David Milgaard's videotaped testimony is shown at the Milgaard Inquiry in Saskatoon on April 24, 2006.Richard Marjan/CP PHOTO/Saskatoon StarPhoenix
David Milgaard spent 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit and now his long-time lawyer is suggesting that his client is the victim of a misunderstanding once again – this time in connection with an alleged domestic assault.
On Friday morning, Mr. Milgaard, 59, will ask a Provincial Court in Calgary to lift a no-contact order so he can return to his wife, Cristina, and two young children. He was charged last week with assault, assault with a weapon – allegedly a knife – and threats to cause death or bodily harm after police were called to the family's suburban home in the city's southwest.
After the case was adjourned Thursday, lawyer Hersh Wolch told reporters outside court that while Mr. Milgaard is doing "very good," he "really, really misses his family."
Since his wrongful conviction as a teenager, which was eventually followed by a $10-million government compensation package, Mr. Milgaard has tried with varying degrees of success to put his life back together. He recently told a Mount Royal University blog that he was a student at the Calgary school, pursuing a bachelor of arts in sociology and psychology. He also said the compensation didn't last.
"As for the money, I am no longer rich at all," he told Calgary20.ca, "I lost my money in the stock market."
Mr. Milgaard, who has been staying with friends since his arrest last week, did not appear in court on Thursday.
"David and his wife are very anxious to get back together," Mr. Wolch said. "I'm advised that David's wife has spoken to all the authorities and said. 'Look, I really want him home.'"
In 1969, Mr. Milgaard was a teenager travelling through Saskatoon when Gail Miller, a 20-year-old nursing aide, was killed, her body dumped in a snowbank. Mr. Milgaard maintained his innocence and in 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned his conviction as key evidence surfaced. A new trial was ordered, but Saskatchewan's Justice Department declined to pursue it.
DNA evidence would clear his name five years later, and convicted rapist Larry Fisher would eventually be found guilty of the crime and Mr. Milgaard received compensation.
A provincial inquiry held to find out why he was convicted of a crime he didn't commit concluded there was no professional misconduct by police or prosecutors in handling the case. But during that inquiry, Mr. Milgaard testified that his mind had been affected by years of medication, mental health assessments and all those years he was told he was guilty while he suffered through imprisonment.
Mr. Wolch remains hopeful the current set of charges could be dropped, but it's up to the Crown. He also said his client wants to receive help for the myriad of issues he continues to face.
"He's never fully recovered from what was done to him and he feels much of this is way out of proportion and is more in his mind like innuendo, gossip. It's a private matter that he would like to deal with in a positive way with his wife. They both tell me how much they love each other and want to be together," Mr. Wolch said.
Mr. Wolch told reporters his client probably won't be in court on Friday.
"He's not seeking publicity or attention. It's been a problem for him. He never sought to be a celebrity. He didn't seek to be wrongfully convicted. It's a little different than when we have a politician or an athlete or somebody who seeks the limelight. He's never sought the limelight," he said.
Mr. Milgaard's mother, Joyce, who long lobbied on her son's behalf during his wrongful imprisonment, said she would not be commenting on the case.