Advertisement

Frank Ostrowski’s murder conviction on verge of being dropped

Frank Ostrowski speaks outside court in 2009. Steve Lambert / The Canadian Press

A Manitoba man who spent 23 years in prison for first-degree murder is on the verge of having his name cleared.

Frank Ostrowski was convicted in 1987 of shooting a drug dealer.

But the federal government deemed the case a likely miscarriage of justice in 2014 and ordered the Manitoba Court of Appeal to review it.

Ostrowski’s lawyer told the court his client should be formally acquitted of the charge, because a key witness lied to the jury and denied getting a deal on other charges for his testimony.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Crown says it agrees there was a miscarriage of justice and the case should be ended.

Story continues below advertisement

But it wants a judicial stay of proceedings instead of a full acquittal.

Crown attorney Randy Schultz says there was other evidence that might cause a jury to link Ostrwoski to the killing, but the passage of time has made it impossible to retry the case.

“The crown has conceded,” Ostrowski said outside court on Monday. “They have no case. It’s all hearsay, theory, conjecture, lies.”

The appeal court judges have reserved their decision, and Ostrowski remains under bail conditions for the time being.

With files from Global Winnipeg

 

Sponsored content

AdChoices