Phillion's lawyer requests meeting with Ont. attorney general

Romeo Phillion, who has served the longest prison sentence of any wrongful conviction claimant in Canadian history, and his lawyer have requested a meeting with Ontario's attorney general in an effort to win an acquittal.

In a 2-1 decision released on Thursday, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered Phillion be granted a new trial and struck down his murder conviction for the 1967 stabbing of Ottawa firefighter Leopold Roy.

But in ordering the new trial, the Appeal Court did not grant Phillion the acquittal he was seeking.

Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley now has the option of staying the charges against Phillion or withdrawing the charges.

Phillion could also be arraigned, but if the Crown did not call any evidence against him it would result in an acquittal.

Phillion's lawyer, James Lockyer, told CBC News on Friday he has sent a letter to Bentley requesting a meeting before he issues a decision.

"The attorney general can still do the right thing and agree that he should be acquitted," Lockyer said.

An acquittal would open up the possibility of compensation, which could amount to millions.

Lockyer said he is not expecting the case to receive a stay from the attorney general.

"That procedure has been severely criticized in these cases," Lockyer said. "So it's really down to an offering of no evidence."

Both the Crown and Phillion's lawyers have said there would be no point in trying him again for a homicide that took place more than 40 years ago.

'Dream come true'

Though Phillion said Thursday's ruling is "a dream come true," he is still looking for exoneration.

"I want him to do the right thing. Let me live my life now — whatever I got left," said Phillion, who suffers from emphysema.

Lockyer said Bentley is expected to review the Appeal Court's decision for at least two weeks before his decision is issued.

"We just think the justice system can redeem itself," Lockyer said. "It hasn't — it's still got that chance."

Phillion said he is still focused on his exoneration, not compensation. "That's all that's on my mind."

"I don't want to feel bad about anybody," he said. "I just want to feel good and just go on with my life and be happy and forget about the past. I have to. I don't want to think about jail anymore."

Lockyer said it shouldn't surprise Canadians the justice system does make mistakes.

"It's human beings at work and human beings get things wrong," he said. "People like Romeo make some very silly mistakes; the confession was a silly mistake.

"At the end of the day that's what it was. It's a good way to describe it, but look at the consequences."

'Crazy' to confess

In 1972, Phillion boasted to police that he had killed Roy, and while he took it back almost immediately, he spent 31 years in prison before he was freed on bail in 2003 pending his Appeal Court hearing. It is the longest prison sentence of any wrongful conviction claimant in Canadian history.

Phillion told CBC News it was "crazy" for him to say he had committed the murder. "I just wanted to choke myself … even five minutes after, really, it was too late," he said.

In Thursday's ruling, Justice Michael Moldaver said previously unheard evidence, in particular information about Phillion's alibi at the time of the crime, "could have left the jury in a state of reasonable doubt about the appellant's guilt."

Justice John Laskin, another judge on the three-member panel, supported that view.

But the ruling was not unanimous. In his dissent, Justice James MacPherson noted "a full review of the evidence must include the singular fact that the appellant confessed to the murder of Leopold Roy."

"Thirty-seven years later, the appellant's confession remains … as compelling today as it was to the jury in 1972," MacPherson said. "The proposed fresh evidence does not change this picture."

Phillion has maintained his innocence. "It kept me going," he said. "I have faith. It looks like the Justice Department is alive there, especially in this case."