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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
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Years
Imprisoned:
|
3.9 |
Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Year Convicted: |
1981 |
Year
Cleared:
|
2000 |
Location
of Trial:
|
Canada |
Result:
|
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary
of Case:
|
"Thomas Sophonow was wrongfully convicted twice of the 1981 murder of shop clerk Barbara Stoppel. 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. 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. 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 Dec. 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 $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:
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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:
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Compensation Awarded: |
$2.6 million (Canadian $) (2001) |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
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Age
When Imprisoned:
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Age
When Released:
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Information Source 1: |
Canada's wrongful convictions, CBC News, October 14, 2010 |
Information
Location 1:
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/08/06/f-wrongfully-convicted.html |
Information
Source 2:
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AIDWYC website - Wrongfully convicted webpage |
Information
Location 2:
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http://www.aidwyc.org/ |
Information
Source 3:
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The Inquiry Regarding Thomas Sophonow, |
Information
Location 3:
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http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/publications/sophonow/index.html?/ |
Information
Source 4:
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Province Calls Commission of Inquiry Into Thomas Sophonow Case |
Information
Location 4:
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http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2000/06/2000-06-08-02.html |
Information
Source 5:
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Sophonow Inquiry Report Released |
Information
Location 5:
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http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2001/11/2001-11-05-05.html |
Ethnicity/Skin:
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Book
About
Case:
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Book
Information:
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Book About Case (2): |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org