Clément Fortin's reply to Mr. Scullion letter of May 15, 2014 regardin his request for Coffin's pardon

Clément Fortin's reply to Mr. Scullion's letter of May 15, 2014

Saint-Sauveur, May 22^nd, 2014

 

Mr. Kerry Scullion, Director/General Counsel

Criminal Conviction Review Group

284 Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0H8

                   Re. Wilbert Coffin – Request for pardon

Dear Mr. Scullion

Many thanks for your reply dated May 15, 2014.

In my request for Coffin’s pardon, I mentioned post-traumatic stress and abuse of alcohol as examples of the changes that have taken place in the means of defense that accused may invoke since Coffin's trial was held. But if the impossible were to happen and Coffin's trial were held today, such facts would certainly be introduced as evidence

Having addressed my request to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety, I was expecting an answer from them telling me that they launched the process whereby pardon may be granted posthumously to Wilbert Coffin for his criminal conviction of the murder of Richard Lindsey.

Under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, the Queen has granted a posthumous pardon to Alan Turing convicted of gross indecency. In the maze of Canadian laws and regulations you could surely find a way to achieve the same result in favor of Wilbert Coffin. I hoped that you would help me in seeking Coffin's pardon, and that you should find a way to convince your superiors of the necessity and humane generosity of such a deed.

I do not think that the Coffin family cares about what Ministers are empowered to grant pardon to their beloved one. Let me

 

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remind you that many politicians, including the current Minister of Public Safety, pledged support to the Coffin family. Marie Coffin, Wilbert's sister, believed their promises and went around the Gaspé Peninsula selling calendars in the hope that the money she collected would help her brother's case.

Furthermore, it seems preposterous that Crown Ministers would have to wait for a submission from The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) to exercise their powers when they know it will never come.

If the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety tell me that they do not receive my request, I will ask the Prime Minister. In the negative, as a last resort, I will implore the representative of the Queen in Canada.

This affair has been dragging on for more than seven years and thanks to your help it may now come to fruition.

I am sending a copy of your letter and of this letter to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness asking them again to reply to my request.

Yours truly,

Clément Fortin, retired lawyer

40 de la Marquise Street

Saint-Sauveur (Québec) J0R 1R4