‘I feel free’: Judge acquits two Manitoba men convicted in 1973 killing in Winnipeg

As Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse emerged from the law courts in downtown Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon, a crowd erupted in applause.

Only moments before, the two were acquitted of killing Ting Fong Chan, a restaurant worker who was stabbed to death in 1973 near a downtown construction site.

“Life is good,” Anderson told reporters on the steps of 408 York Ave.

Court of Kings Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal told Anderson and Woodhouse they are innocent and deserve acquittals.

“I’m now happy to enter them,” Joyal said of the acquittals. “Your stories are stories of courage and resilience.”

So many people showed up to watch the proceedings the matter had to be moved to a bigger room. When Joyal announced his decision, the courtroom cheered.

In June, federal Justice Minister David Lametti ordered a new trial for the two men, citing unspecified new evidence.

On Tuesday the Crown asked for an acquittal of Anderson and Woodhouse, who are Indigenous, saying systemic racism had affected the investigation and prosecution.

Anderson and Woodhouse were convicted by an all-white jury in 1974 for the killing of Chan and the prosecution was led by former star Crown attorney George Dangerfield, who has since become known for having the most wrongful convictions in all of Canada.

Though the two appealed their convictions to a higher court shortly after their conviction, their appeals were denied.

Anderson was released on parole in 1987 and Woodhouse in 1990.

Surrounded by family after his acquittal, Anderson, now 68, said his support kept him going through the years.

“Hopefully I can move on from here on without any more courts,” he said.

Woodhouse said he thinks most of the reason they were convicted could be attributed to racism, but it’s not the criminal justice system itself that must change, but its delivery.

“It’s just the practice of it, that’s where we fail,” he said.

“I’m more hurt than angry.”

James Lockyer said there’s no way to know what the two men have lost over the decades since their wrongful convictions.

“We’ve dealt with a number of people in situations where they spent a lot of time in prison for a crime they didn’t commit; we’ve never got to 50 years before,” Lockyer, a lawyer and founding director of Innocence Canada, said.

Innocence Canada, a national organization that advocates for the wrongly convicted, took on the Anderson and Woodhouse case in early 2018 after reviewing files which suggested discrimination was at play.

Crown prosecutor Michelle Jules told the court Tuesday she would not call any evidence.

“Our justice system failed,” Jules told Joyal during proceedings. “Failed to provide them a fair trial.”

Lockyer said there are “without a doubt” other wrongfully convicted people currently sitting in Manitoba prisons.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen believes a miscarriage of justice took place.

In a statement Tuesday, Goertzen offered his apologies to Anderson, Woodhouse and their families, but noted “nothing that can be said that will bring back the years of lost freedom or the time away from family and friends.”

He said the wrongful conviction has also taken a toll on Chan’s family, as they’ve sought justice, too.

“This miscarriage of justice compounds the suffering of the Chan family as well, and as attorney general, I regret and recognize this hardship,” Goertzen said.

The men’s convictions were based largely on a signed confession given by Anderson to police, but lawyers have said Anderson did not know what he was signing and English was not his first language.

On a U.S.-based podcast last year, Anderson said he signed a piece of paper he thought was a receipt for his personal property that he had surrendered upon his arrest.

Now, before beginning his new life as a free man, 67-year-old Woodhouse said he feels relief.

“It’s about time somebody believed me; 50 years is a long time.”

Innocence Canada said they will announce their next steps in the case, including whether they will seek financial compensation for the two men, on Wednesday.

— with files from Marney Blunt, Sam Brownell and The Canadian Press

0:53 Expediting wrongful conviction process