Clayton Johnson was 56 years old when he was convicted in 1993 for the murder of his wife Janice Johnson, who died on February 20th, 1989. Clayton was a carpenter, high school industrial arts teacher, church volunteer, and father of two.
Clayton had already been heading out to work when Janice died. That morning Janice had fallen down the stairs, hit her head and been knocked unconscious, and by the time her body was discovered and rushed to hospital it had already been too late. She had been found by a neighbour, Robert Molloy, at the bottom of the basement stairs. Initially the police agreed with the doctor who performed the autopsy in that her death was purely an accident. However, a new investigation began into her death in the summer …show more content…
Firstly, I think that the Canadian legal system appears to be fairly inconsistent. This particular case was handed very inadequately. Clayton was convicted on quite literally no concrete evidence. All the evidence provided could be heavily left up to interpretation, and in some cases was falsely constructed (the pathologists’ statements). There is no doubt that not enough evidence was given to convict Clayton. Going back to my point, other cases appear to be handled very well. It seems that the quality of the Canadian Legal System varies on a court-to-court basis, and I believe that is something that should be fixed. Secondly, I don’t ever believe that spending as long a time in jail as Clayton did can be compensated with money. While he may have been paid a substantial amount of money, that can’t be make up the time he spent away from his daughters when he should have been mourning Janice’s death with them. Lastly, I think agencies such AIDWYC are vital in helping to prevent wrongful convictions or at least correcting them. They’re important because they help keep innocent people out of jail; they try their best to patch up the holes in our legal system. Off of this point I believe that further work needs to be done to prevent these wrongful convictions from happening in the first place, such as looking more extensively into each and every case where more severe sentences may be given out, and making sure personal bias stays out of the entire process. Clayton was more or less sent to jail based on rumours, and I would hope that never happens
Clayton had already been heading out to work when Janice died. That morning Janice had fallen down the stairs, hit her head and been knocked unconscious, and by the time her body was discovered and rushed to hospital it had already been too late. She had been found by a neighbour, Robert Molloy, at the bottom of the basement stairs. Initially the police agreed with the doctor who performed the autopsy in that her death was purely an accident. However, a new investigation began into her death in the summer …show more content…
Firstly, I think that the Canadian legal system appears to be fairly inconsistent. This particular case was handed very inadequately. Clayton was convicted on quite literally no concrete evidence. All the evidence provided could be heavily left up to interpretation, and in some cases was falsely constructed (the pathologists’ statements). There is no doubt that not enough evidence was given to convict Clayton. Going back to my point, other cases appear to be handled very well. It seems that the quality of the Canadian Legal System varies on a court-to-court basis, and I believe that is something that should be fixed. Secondly, I don’t ever believe that spending as long a time in jail as Clayton did can be compensated with money. While he may have been paid a substantial amount of money, that can’t be make up the time he spent away from his daughters when he should have been mourning Janice’s death with them. Lastly, I think agencies such AIDWYC are vital in helping to prevent wrongful convictions or at least correcting them. They’re important because they help keep innocent people out of jail; they try their best to patch up the holes in our legal system. Off of this point I believe that further work needs to be done to prevent these wrongful convictions from happening in the first place, such as looking more extensively into each and every case where more severe sentences may be given out, and making sure personal bias stays out of the entire process. Clayton was more or less sent to jail based on rumours, and I would hope that never happens