6 Sask. cases under review by Innocence Canada as wrongful convictions under spotlight worldwide

In Saskatchewan, the name David Milgaard is a reminder innocent people can end up behind bars. 

There has been 21 cases that have been exonerated by the Innocent Project in Canada and this week, there are events taking place around the world marking cases of wrongful convictions. 

"We've actual made an effort in the last couple of years to get out and make sure that incarcerated people are aware of us," said Ron Dalton, co-president of Innocence Canada. 

Here in Saskatchewan, there are six cases of people convicted of crimes that are under review by Innocence Canada. Dalton cannot speak about the cases while they are under review. 

• The Wrongful Conviction of David Milgaard
• ​David Milgaard joins the ranks of the wrongfully convicted
• Canada's wrongful convictions

Dalton was once found guilty of a crime that he did not commit. He now reviews cases of prisoners who are behind bars in Canada and might be innocent.

"I ended up spending nearly nine years in maximum security prison," said Dalton. 

He was accused of killing his wife, who died in hospital. She was rushed into hospital after choking on dry cereal at home. A medical procedure resulted in scratches on the inside of her throat.

When she died, the pathologist in the hospital saw the scratches and thought it was signs of a homicide. Dalton was suspected immediately. 

"I hardly had time to grieve. My wife had died around midnight one day, and I was arrested and taken into custody the next day," he said. 

He didn't get to attend his wife's funeral. Twelve years after his wife died, he was found innocent. 

Now, he wants to do the same for others. 

• 'The criminal justice system failed David Milgaard': inquiry's report
• The Milgaard Inquiry

He said that Innocence Canada is alerted to a case in several different ways. 

"Word spreads pretty quickly in most prisons, certainly among lifers groups and people serving life sentences. We are contacted by family members sometimes," said Dalton. 

"We are contacted by lawyers who are quite dismayed that they have lost appeals in cases where they think their client is innocent or is probably innocent. But a lot of the time, it's a prisoner that has been sitting around for years and has run out of all other options."

The group, which mostly consisted of volunteer law students, only begin reviewing cases where the client has exhausted all of their appeal options. 

Dalton said that it takes years to review a case because of DNA testing and consulting with experts but giving someone their life back makes the intensity of the work worth it.