WINNIPEG –
An Indigenous man convicted of killing a restaurant worker 50 years ago was acquitted Thursday by a judge who called the case a wrongful conviction that involved systemic discrimination.
Clarence Woodhouse, 72, held up his court papers, along with a T-shirt that said “Innocent”, outside court. He told reporters he is looking forward to spending time with his son and grandchildren.
“I’ll probably just relax,” Woodhouse said in a quiet voice.
Woodhouse is the third man to be exonerated in the 1973 death of Ting Fong Chan, a chef who was beaten and stabbed near a downtown construction site. Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse were acquitted last year.
The federal justice minister ordered a review of their case as likely miscarriages of justice. The convictions were based largely on statements given to police that were fluent in English, including what prosecutors called a signed confession by Anderson.
The men’s lawyers …