Ivan Henry and his daughters after receiving news of his acquittals from the Court of Appeal

Earlier today we filed a Notice of Civil Claim on behalf of Ivan William Mervin Henry, seeking compensatory damages for his wrongful conviction.  The document, filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry under no. S-114405, makes various claims against the Provincial Crown, the Federal Crown, the City of Vancouver and three VPD investigators who handled Mr. Henry’s case.  These claims have not yet been proven in court. In October 2010, Mr. Henry had his convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal after serving nearly 27 years in prison.

This line-up was viewed by some of the complainants at Ivan Henry's trial. Identity was in issue; the Crown adduced no physical evidence linking Mr. Henry to the crimes.

William Davies’ final report, dealing with the response of the Criminal Justice Branch to Frank Paul’s death, was released yesterday afternoon and is available here.  We expect to have further comments after reviewing and digesting its contents.

The Ministry of the Attorney General made this announcement on May 19, 2011:

“Final report in Frank Paul inquiry delivered

VICTORIA – The final report into the death of Frank Joseph Paul has now been delivered to Attorney General Barry Penner by inquiry commissioner William H. Davies, QC.

The report will be released to the public following the process required under the Public Inquiry Act, which requires that the attorney general submit the report to cabinet at the next meeting after its receipt.

Cabinet may provide direction to the attorney general regarding any portions of the report that must be withheld by law under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The final report will then be prepared and tabled with the legislative assembly. ”

We, other counsel who appeared for interested parties, and the public are still waiting to see the report that was generated in respect of the Criminal Justice Branch’s (Crown Counsel’s) response to Frank Paul’s death.