wrongful conviction, financial compensation

Should a wrongful conviction mean financial compensation? 67 year old Ivan Henry believes so. When Henry was arrested and then convicted in 1983 for 3 rape charges, 2 attempted rape charges, and 5 indecent assault charges he kept declaring his innocence but no one listened. The fact that 8 women were assaulted in the time period between May of 1981 and June of 1982 was not in dispute, but Ivan Henry was the victim of a wrongful conviction. After being convicted Henry was declared to be a dangerous offender by the court, and his sentence included an indefinite incarceration period. After an astonishing 55 appeal applications were filed Henry was finally fully acquitted on all of the convictions in October of 2010.

Does the wrongful conviction of Ivan Henry require financial compensation though? The answer will depend on the top court, who will hear the Henry case to determine whether the charter rights of Iva were violated by the Crown. While Henry was incarcerated another suspect was arrested by police, and Donald James McRae entered a guilty plea to assaulting 3 women in the very same neighborhood that the crimes Ivan was convicted for occurred. There have been wrongful convictions which resulted in an even longer period of incarceration, such as Romeo Phillion who fought for 31 years to be acquitted and freed from prison. The decision of the high court could go either way, and Ivan Henry could receive the financial compensation that he feels he is entitled to or he could walk away with a decision that offers nothing but condolences.