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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment (10 years min. before eligible for parole) |
Years Imprisoned: |
14 |
Year Crime: |
1993 |
Year Convicted: |
1995 |
Year Cleared: |
2011 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Canada |
County or Region of Crime: |
Ontario |
City of Crime: |
Oshawa |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Tammy Wynne Marquardt was wrongfully convicted in 1995 of the October 9, 1993 death of her two-year-old son by the testimony of pathologist Dr. Charles Smith that the child died by asphyxiation (smothering). Tammy Marquardt was imprisoned for 14 years in jail during which she lost her other two children when the province adopted them out. After new evidence that Dr. Smith testified unreliably in many cases, she filed an appeal of her conviction based on the ground that Dr. Smith may have provided unreliable testimony in her case about her son's cause of death. She was released by order of the Ontario Court of Appeal on March 12, 2009 on bail pending the outcome of her appeal. In August 2010 she was awarded compensation of US$240,132 (CAN$250,000 at exchange rate of .9605 on August 14, 2010) by the province of Ontario. The Ontario Court of Appeal quashed Tammy Marquardt’s conviction in February 2011. On June 7, 2011 the prosecution dismissed the charges against Marquardt." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous expert medical testimony by pathologist Dr. Charles Smith. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"The Ontario Court of Appeal quashed Marquardt’s conviction in February 2011. On June 7, 2011 the prosecution dismissed the charges against Marquardt." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted and lawyer James Lockyer. |
Compensation Awarded: |
"CAN$250,000 (Aug. 14, 2010) (US$240,132 at exchange rate of .9605 on 8-14-2010)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
37 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Wrongfully accused mom to get $250,000, By Kevin Connor (QMI Agency), Ottawa Sun, August 15, 2010" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/08/10/14982991.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Mother tastes freedom after 14 years in prison, By Kirk Makin (staff), Globe and Mail (Toronto), March 13, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article307563.ece |
Information Source 3: |
"Murder charges withdrawn against mother wrongfully convicted of killing son, 2, By Tracey Taylor (Legal Affairs Reporter), Toronto Star, June 7, 2011" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1003981--murder-charge-dropped-against-mom-who-spent-13-years-in-prison |
Information Source 4: |
"Tammy Marquardt case profile, By Sarah Harland-Logan, AIDWYC website (Toronto, Canada)" |
Information Location 4: |
http://aidwyc.createtoconvert.com/cases/historical/tammy-marquardt/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org