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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
3.75 |
Year Crime: |
1981 |
Year Convicted: |
1981 |
Year Cleared: |
2000 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Canada |
County or Region of Crime: |
Manitoba |
City of Crime: |
Winnipeg |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Thomas Sophonow was wrongfully convicted twice of the 1981 murder of shop clerk Barbara Stoppel in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada. Stoppel was working alone at the Ideal Donut Shop when around 8:30 in the evening twine was placed around her neck and she was strangled. She died a few days later at the St. Boniface Hospital. There was extensive media coverage of the crime and the investigation and the proceedings that followed it. Sophonow was charged with the Stoppel's murder based on a jailhouse informant's claim that he confessed. He underwent three trials. The first was a mistrial as the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. At the second and third trials, he was convicted baseed on the testimony of three jailhouse informants that he confessed, and circumstantial evidence. His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal after his first conviction. After his third trial and second conviction, the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned his conviction in December 1985 and ordered his acquittal. He was released from prison after 45 months of wrongful imprisonment. In 1998, the Winnipeg Police Service undertook a reinvestigation of the murder of Barbara Stoppel. On June the 8th, 2000 Winnepeg police announced that new evidence had cleared Sophonow of the crime, and that a suspect had been identified. On Nov. 5, 2001, the Manitoba Justice Minister released a report recommending he receive an ex gratia payment of CAN$2.6 million (Canadian $) to compensate him. An Inquiry into Sophonow's case by the government of Manitoba was begun in 2000 and the "Thomas Sophonow Inquiry Report" was issued in 2001." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by a jailhouse informant. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Absence of evidence caused his conviction to be reversed in 1985 by the Manitoba Court of Appeals that ordered his acquittal. New evidence cleared Sophonow absolutely in 2000. |
Defendant Aided By: |
Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted |
Compensation Awarded: |
CAN$2.6 million (2001) |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Canada's wrongful convictions, CBC News, October 14, 2010" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/08/06/f-wrongfully-convicted.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Thomas Sophonow case profile, By Sarah Harland-Logan, AIDWYC website (Toronto, Canada)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://aidwyc.createtoconvert.com/cases/historical/thomas-sophonow/ |
Information Source 3: |
"The Inquiry Regarding Thomas Sophonow, " |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/publications/sophonow/index.html?/ |
Information Source 4: |
Province Calls Commission of Inquiry Into Thomas Sophonow Case |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2000/06/2000-06-08-02.html |
Information Source 5: |
Sophonow Inquiry Report Released |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2001/11/2001-11-05-05.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org