Two New Brunswick men whose convictions were recently thrown out are expected in court today. Walter (Wally) Gillespie, left, and Robert (Bobby) Mailman pose in the south-end neighbourhood where they grew up in Saint John, N.B., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Two New Brunswick men whose 1984 murder convictions were recently overturned by the federal justice minister have been formally declared not guilty.
Tracey DeWare, the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench, said today in Saint John, N.B., that Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie are “innocent in the eyes of the law” of the Nov. 30, 1983, killing of George Gilman Leeman.
The two men had been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 18 years.
Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani quashed the convictions last month, saying there was reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.
Mailman, 76, and Gillespie, 81, submitted their application for criminal conviction review in December 2019, and both were on parole and out of custody awaiting today’s decision.
The judge called it “most regrettable” that it has taken 40 years for the two men’s names to be cleared.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2023.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version’s headline said the killing was in 1984.
