Hearing today for 2 Saint John men whose murder convictions were overturned

Two Saint John men are set to appear in court Thursday under the presumption of innocence for the first time in nearly 40 years.

However, Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie will still each be facing a charge that they committed second-degree murder against George Gilman Leeman, whose beaten and burned body was found in Rockwood Park in November 1983.

The two were convicted in May 1984.

Following their unsuccessful appeals and efforts to get their cases reviewed, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani announced last month he was overturning the convictions and granting Mailman and Gillespie new trials. Virani said new  information led him to believe "a miscarriage of justice likely occurred."

Mailman, 76, and Gillespie, 80, are to appear at 1:30 p.m. in Saint John Court of King's Bench for the first time since the minister's decision. Although the pair have been granted a new trial, an advocate for wrongfully convicted Canadians is hoping for a quicker resolution to the case.

What could happen this afternoon

When the parties gather before Chief Justice Marc Richard, a Crown prosecutor is expected to read out the charges against the two men, followed by their entering not guilty pleas, said Ron Dalton, co-president of Innocence Canada, which is representing them legally.

He said it will then be up to the Crown to announce how it plans to proceed, which could include new trials, withdrawing the charges, staying the charges, or agreeing with a motion from the men's defence lawyers to have the charges dismissed.

"The Crown will have to decide if they would like to try and pursue new trials for these gentlemen after 40 years, which, frankly nobody really expects ... or if they will simply join the defence in a motion to have the charges dismissed, which is what we're hopeful for," Dalton said.

Robert Mailman spent 18 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder. (Submitted by Ron Dalton)

CBC News asked the provincial Department of Justice for an interview Wednesday about how Crown prosecutors plan to proceed with the case.

Spokesperson Allan Dearing said no one from the department would comment on the case because it's still before the courts.

Contesting the evidence

Virani's decision came after lawyers with Innocence Canada applied to the federal Department of Justice in 2019 to review the case.

Dalton said in order for the convictions to be overturned, his colleagues had to "undermine just about all the evidence" presented at the trial in 1984.

"We don't feel that there's a lot of room for the Crown to manoeuvre at this point," Dalton said. "Most of the previous evidence has been discounted at this point."

Key evidence in the trial included eye-witness testimony from a woman and a teenage boy who said they saw Mailman and Gillespie committing the crime. A year later, they both recanted their stories.

George Gilman Leeman was killed outside an apartment building on Coronation Court before his beaten body was dumped and burned in a remote part of Rockwood Park in Saint John. (CBC)

Another issue with the case involved failures by Saint John police and Crown prosecutors to disclose all of the evidence that was available, Dalton said.

This included receipts for an automobile part the two men purchased outside Saint John on the evening the murder took place, he said.

"They ignored a lot of evidence that would have been quite exculpatory, including very solid alibi evidence these two gentlemen could document," Dalton said.

"They were not even in Saint John at the time this homicide happened."

CBC News asked for an interview with Saint John police about how the two men's cases were handled.

In an email, Staff Sgt. Sean Rocca said it would be inappropriate for the police force to comment on the case because it is still being dealt with, but he added that the force fully co-operated with the Department of Justice's review of the case.

Working against time

Mailman and Gillespie were granted parole after serving 18 years in prison but were still subject to strict release conditions, Dalton said.

Both of them are now elderly, and while Gillespie is in good health, Mailman has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Dalton said.

"Mr. Mailman is occupied with planning his own funeral," Dalton said.

"At the moment, he has a terminal cancer diagnosis that he received two months ago, and he was given one to three months to live. We're two months into that, so time is of the essence for him."

Dalton said both men are expected to be in court Thursday afternoon.