h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Guy Paul Morin Case - a Canadian Murder Mystery - A87799423
Author: SashaQ - U9936370

Original Entry: Guy Paul Morin: justice fails - A4019339
Original Author: pyrotechnic42 - U1540346

Another Flea Market rescue attempt

Interesting tale. I like it and i thought it gave enough information to cover the essentials. I always think that cases like this are why capital punishment should be banned. How often are innocent people behind bars for shoddy investigation.

Great rescue.

A very interesting read.

Only one point. The essence of this entry is not that it's a murder mystery, but that it's a case of wrongful conviction. I would strongly recommend that you change the title accordingly.

Icy

A very interesting and well researched account.

A few comments and questions

>>further advances in forensic science will solve the mystery eventually, so that justice will be done.

I would say either
so that justice will be served.
or
so that justice can be done.

but that may just be me

The biggest point I wanted to see at least addressed is the concept of double jeopardy http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/double+jeopardy

I know we are talking about Canadian law here, but the concept has its roots deep in British common law.

In the conclusion

>>Janet and Bob divorced, as Bob couldn't cope with the revelations about his son's behaviour that were unearthed during the investigations

I might say 'accusations' rather than 'revelations' as the statement was lost and there was no conviction in this matter.

In the title 'a Canadian Murder Mystery' might be better as 'a Canadian Wrongful Conviction'

A very good addition to the guide, thanks for rescuing it

F S

Yes, I'm not sure it has to mention 'Canadian' at all. It's not really a commentary on the particular jurisdiction, just the way it was applied. (Is that fair?) This could, and probably has, happened all over the world.

Thanks everyone

I have made some changes to hopefully clarify the points raised.

Title changed

Mention of Double Jeopardy and points of Canadian Law added

I also changed the paragraph in the Police Investigations section to try to make it clearer, but I will check it again later whne I have access to all the information sources about the investigation into the Jessops.

This is a good article, and an interesting case.

It might be useful to add a little to your statement that "re-examination of the body found DNA evidence that clearly proved that Paul Morin was innocent." Presumably traces of blood or semen or whatever were found that could not have come from Paul?

I can't help wondering if the fact that Paul Morin had schitzophrenia contributed to his conviction. There does sem to be a tendency for the police to identify people who have mental problems, or learning difficulties as possible suspects.

Thanks minorvogonpoet

I looked into details of what the exonerating DNA evidence was, and found some more details about the police investigations as well, so I have added that all in.

His behaviour did seem to contribute to his being a suspect in the case, and a newspaper article that appeared after his acquittal had the headline "He's Guilty Only of Being a Misfit"...

Hey, nice job.

A clear account of a case that should make us all thoughtful.

Thanks for explaining about the lack of a double jeopardy law in Canada, I wouldn't have known.

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Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Well done SashaQ, and I'm sure pyrotechnic42 would be delighted too.

<BB<

SashaQ

Thanks everyone

Yes, I was pleased to finish this after pyrotechnic42's good start on a thought provoking topic