Father of Lynne Harper stunned by Truscott acquittal

The father of Lynne Harper said he was left "numb" after hearing that Steven Truscott was acquitted of killing his daughter.

"All I can think about is the cruel 50 years of mental distress," Leslie Harper, 90, told the Globe and Mail in a phone interview.

In a ruling Tuesday, a five-judge panel unanimously decided to quash the 1959 conviction against Truscott stemming from the rape and strangulation of Harper's 12-year-old daughter near a town in Southwestern Ontario. The court ruled the conviction was a "miscarriage of justice."

"The joy, the jumping up and down on the streets where he (Truscott) was yesterday, it doesn't sit too well," said Harper, who broke his silence on the matterfrom his nursing home in the western United States.

"I'm numb, as a matter of fact I'm to the point where I don't feel as if I can even stand up or walk."

Harper told the Globe and Mail that he doesn't have the stomach to read the court's rationale for acquitting Truscott.

He said hecan't even force himself to say Truscott's name after all these years.

"You never want to see someone who was innocent convictedof something," Harper said. "But this is about money."

The Harpers believe part of the reason Truscott wanted to clear his name was to get financial compensation.

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryanthas said he has asked Justice Sydney Robins, a former Ontario Court of Appeal judge,to advise the government on the issue of compensation.

When asked whether he'll fight for compensation,Truscott said, "I haven't even thought of that. I've learned over the years you fight one battle at a time."

Lawyer James Lockyer said, "Steve should get every penny he can out of the government after what he's been through."