Department of Justice overturns 1983 double-homicide conviction, orders new trial

A new trial for a Surrey, BC barber has been ordered by the Department of Justice. The barber was convicted 37 years ago of murdering his two young boys. This comes after the department opened a nationwide review of 47 cases of alleged wrongful conviction.

“The government is committed to a fair and impartial criminal justice system that respects the needs of victims while guarding against potential miscarriages of justice,” said Attorney General David Lametti in a statement, according to Blacklock's. Lametti added that he was “satisfied there is a reasonable basis to conclude a miscarriage of justice likely occurred” in the case of Tomas Yebes, 77.

Yebes was convicted of second degree murder in 1983, following the 1982 death of his two sons. The boys, Gabriel, 7, and Tommy, 6, died on a burning mattress in Yebes’ home.

Yebes phoned police and informed them that he woke up to the smell of smoke. A lighter was later found in the boys’ room by investigators. An appeal which wrote that “there is no evidence in this case directly connecting Yebes to the death of the children,” was rejected by the Supreme Court in 1987. They claimed that he was the only other person in the home at the time.

According to Lawyers who had been petitioning for a new trial, Yebes had called police two weeks prior to the boys’ deaths to report a small fire in their bedroom. “When a police officer arrived he found a candle on a plate in the bedroom and evidence a fire had occurred,” the Supreme Court was told. Surrey police “concluded the boys had been playing with fire.”

Yebes was sentenced to life in prison, but told the Vancouver Sun in 1987 . “I am innocent. To my friends who believe in me, I beg them to not lose their faith because the truth will come out.”

In 2018, retired Supreme Court justice Morris Fish was appointed by cabinet to review petitions which alleged wrongful convictions. The Criminal Code of Canada states that convicts and parolees may petition the Attorney General to review their cases.

While the number of wrongful convictions in Canada isn't known, it is estimated that at least 32 Canadians have been compensated after being jailed for crimes they didn't commit in the last three decades.

This included Clayton Johnson, who was wrongfully convicted for the death of his wife in 1993. His wife died after falling down the stairs while Johnson was at work. He was paid 2.5 million dollars in compensation after spending five years in prison.

However, most petitions are not successful. A federal judge refused to reopen a 1979 case two years ago, where one man was jailed for a crime which another man confessed to.

Jean-Claude Bouchard spent 26 years in prison after being convicted for a Montreal shooting. However, lawyers petitioned after a drug dealer confessed that he was responsible for the shooting while on his deathbed. Federal lawyers stated that the confession “contradicts all the facts supplied by other witnesses at the trial.”