Toronto man imprisoned for niece's murder gets Appeal Court review

Canada's justice minister has referred the case of a Toronto man, who served 12 years in prison after being convicted of killing his four-year-old niece, to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Rob Nicholson's decision announced Tuesday follows the revelation that the pathologist whose testimony led to William Mullins-Johnson's conviction may have been faulty.

Mullins-Johnson, 37, was convicted of first-degree murder in the June 1993 death of young Valin Johnson. However, there was no forensic evidence linking him to the crime.

An independent panel reviewing 45 child autopsies performed by former chief pathologist Dr. Charles Smith found that he made mistakes in 20 of the investigations, and Mullins-Johnson's case was among those flagged as resulting in criminal convictions.

The panel's findings were made public this April. Ontario then ordered a public inquiry into Smith's practices.

A Department of Justice media release issued Tuesday said Nicholson was satisfied "there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred" in Mullins-Johnson's conviction in 1994.

Nicholson concluded that in light of the possibility that Smith gave bad evidence, the "new evidence … casts serious doubt on the correctness of his conviction for murder."

Mullins-Johnson was granted bail in 2005 pending a decision from the justice minister.