New trial granted for 2 N.B. men convicted of second-degree murder in 1984

A new trial has been granted to two New Brunswick men convicted of second-degree murder in 1984. 

Justice Minister Arif Virani announced Friday that Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie would be given a new trial because, "there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred," according to a statement released by the Department of Justice. 

"It's the best Christmas present I'll have this year for sure," said Ron Dalton, co-president of Innocence Canada, a non-profit dedicated to winning exoneration for people who have been wrongfully convicted.  

Innocence Canada has been working with Mailman and Gillespie for the past 20 years. The two men were sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 18 years for the killing of plumber George Gilman Leeman in Saint John.

WATCH | 'It's the best Christmas present I'll have this year, for sure.' 

Federal minister orders new trial in a 40-year-old N.B. murder case

12 months ago

Duration 0:56

Justice Minister Arif Virani announces new trial for Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie after their Saint John murder conviction is reviewed.

Mailman and Gillespie's appeals to the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick were dismissed in 1988. In 1994, Gillespie sought and was denied leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The pair spent 18 years in prison, and both are now on parole and out of custody. They submitted their application for criminal conviction review in December 2019.

According to the news release, significant information that was not submitted when the case was before the courts calls into question the fairness of the process. 

"In this case, there was some misconduct in terms of testimony," Dalton said. "There were alternate and better suspects that were never properly investigated. There was a lack of disclosure. All kinds of things that played into the errors that were made.

"It's very rare in any of these wrongful conviction cases that it's a single factor, one mistake alone. Normally, it doesn't lead to a wrongful conviction. It's usually a compounding of errors."

The case

Leeman was killed on Nov. 28, 1983. He was believed to be beaten to death, doused in gasoline and set on fire. His body was found in Rockwood Park of Saint John by a jogger. Mailman and Gillespie were accused of killing him.

"Basically, these two gentlemen had a pretty solid alibi," Dalton said. "They were not in the city of Saint John at the time this homicide happened. And we were able to document that 40 years later."

This case is personal for Dalton, who was wrongfully convicted and spent time in the same prison as Mailman and Gillespie. 

"When my own case was resolved 10 years later, I knew there was other people like Bobby and Wally still left behind, and I looked around to find a way to try and help those people," said Dalton.

"It really gives me some satisfaction after … 39 years since I met them, to see their case finally overturned and have them returned to the presumption of innocence that we all enjoy. "

Gillespie is now 80 years old, and Mailman is 76 and has terminal cancer, Dalton said.

Dalton said he hopes Mailman will get the chance to see the new trial happen.

"The onus is now on the Crown to prove to a court that he murdered someone rather than for the last 40 years, the onus has been on Mr. Mailman and Mr. Gillespie to prove their innocence," said Dalton.