Erin Walsh

Case Summary

On August 11, 1975, Erin Walsh and his friend George Ferguson travelled to Saint John, New Brunswick to sell drugs purchased in Montreal.1 On the night of their arrival, Walsh and Ferguson met locals Donald MacMillan and David Walton. That evening, Walsh discussed purchasing a sawed-off shotgun from MacMillan, but the deal fell through because Walsh was only interested in a handgun.2

On the morning of August 12, 1975, the four of them met up with another man, Melvin “CheChe” Peters, after which they all drove to Tin Can Beach.3 Walsh waded into the bay, but then suddenly noticed that his companions were “ransacking” his car.4 Rushing back to the car, he was intercepted by Peters, who pinned Walsh down and brandished a sawed-off shotgun in his face.5

Walsh escaped and ran towards some nearby railway tracks, where he flagged down Canadian National Railway (CNR) employees to call the police.6 However, Ferguson caught up to Walsh and succeeded in convincing him that it was safe to return. The two then proceeded back towards Walsh’s car.7 But en route to the car, Walsh was again intercepted – this time by MacMillan, Walton, and Peters, who forced him into the car at gunpoint.8 Walsh grabbed for the shotgun pointed at him, and a struggle ensued in which Peters was shot.9 MacMillan was the person who had ended up with the shotgun.10 By that point, the police had arrived, and they arrested the car’s occupants. Peters died from his wound later that same day. Police then charged Walsh with Peters’ murder.11

Walsh’s trial was held in October 1975.12 Walsh testified in his own defence, but was not able to arrange for corroborative evidence to be called from the CNR employees.13 The Crown, meanwhile, called MacMillan and Walton, who testified that the group had been drinking together on the beach and there had been an argument. MacMillan and Walton claimed that on the way back from the beach, Walsh had fished out the sawed-off shotgun from under the seat, and shot Peters point-blank “without warning or provocation.”14 They further claimed that Walsh had been making racist comments against Peters, who was Black, and that Walsh had purchased the sawn-off shotgun from MacMillan the night before Peters’ death.15 MacMillan also testified to having purchased shotgun shells that morning at Walsh’s request.16

On October 17, 1975, the jury convicted Walsh of non-capital murder (roughly analogous to second degree murder today).17 He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for ten years.18 Walsh unsuccessfully appealed his conviction to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in 1982. The court declined to grant him a new trial on the basis of fresh evidence that he had assembled – specifically, statements from CNR employees that Walsh had indeed asked them to call the police.19

Walsh continued to search for evidence that could assist him in proving his innocence. In 2003, he gained access to Crown and police files at the Public Archives of the Province of New Brunswick. These files proved to contain a great deal of relevant information that had never been disclosed to him, with the result that he had proceeded to trial lacking key pieces of evidence.20

Notably included in these files – and absent from Walsh’s pre-trial disclosure – was a police officer’s report of a conversation between MacMillan and Walton in the cell area after their arrest. The officer had made notes on their incriminating discourse, as follows:

I heard the person in the C block [MacMillan] who appeared drunk say what happened[,] what are we doing here. The person in Cell block B [Walton] said what did you shoot Chee Chee for. The other person [MacMillan] said What’s going on  You’r going to help me out ar’nt you Dave, What happened. Answer from Cell block B [Walton] was someone called the Cops […]21

These statements, and police notes of further discussion where the two began sorting out how to proceed, were “indicative of attempts by [Walton and MacMillan] to concoct a story, which they could use to satisfy the police and eliminate their own culpability” – by blaming Walsh instead.22

In addition, the archive files contained an undisclosed police statement from the owner of the hardware store where MacMillan had purchased shotgun ammunition. Contrary to his story on the stand, MacMillan had bought this ammunition before Walsh had even arrived in Saint John.23 Still further, the Crown had not disclosed numerous police statements from CNR employees, who indeed corroborated Walsh’s account that he had fled from the beach and asked them to call law enforcement.24 Taken together, these undisclosed statements gravely undermined the credibility of the Crown’s witnesses.

Finally, the undisclosed files included a report from the Crown’s ballistics expert, to the effect that both the Crown and defence versions of Peters’ shooting were consistent with the ballistics evidence.25 This report did not fully accord with the expert’s testimony at Walsh’s trial. Deprived of this document, the defence could not properly challenge the expert in cross-examination.26

On the basis of this new evidence, Walsh applied to the Minister of Justice in 2006 for his case to be reviewed.27 He also commenced a civil lawsuit on July 18, 2007 against prosecutors, police, and the Province of New Brunswick, seeking compensation for his wrongful conviction. The government sought, unsuccessfully, to have his lawsuit summarily dismissed.28

On February 28, 2008, the Minister of Justice referred Walsh’s case to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal for rehearing in light of the undisclosed documents. The court found – and the Crown agreed – that Walsh had “suffered a miscarriage of justice” as a result of this non-disclosure, and that he had “never been and [would] obviously never be in a position to have a fair trial.”29 The court overturned Walsh’s conviction and acquitted him on March 14, 2008, finding that “[o]n the evidence as it now stands … no reasonable jury could convict Walsh of murder.”30

 After Walsh was acquitted, the government of New Brunswick settled his lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.31 Walsh died of cancer in 2010, only two years after his acquittal.32


[1] Walsh (Re), 2008 NBCA 33 at paras. 10, 15 [Walsh (Re)].
[2] Ibid. at paras. 15-17.
[3] Ibid. at para. 10.
[4] Ibid. at para. 11.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid. at paras. 11, 27.
[8] Ibid. at para. 11.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid. at para. 10.
[12] Ibid. at para. 3.
[13] Ibid. at para. 11.
[14] Ibid. at paras. 10, 75.
[15] Ibid. at paras. 16, 20.
[16] Ibid. at para. 65.
[17] Ibid. at para. 3.
[18] Ibid. at para. 4; “Man wrongfully convicted in N.B. murder dies,” CBC News (14 October 2010), online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/man-wrongfully-convicted-in-n-b-murder-dies-1.912058> (accessed 27 January 2023) [CBC News].
[19] Walsh (Re), supra note 1 at para. 73; R . v. Walsh, 1982 CanLII 4231 at paras. 26, 35 (NB CA); R. v. Walsh, 1982 CanLII 4230 at paras. 3, 20 (NB CA).
[20] Walsh (Re), supra note 1 at para. 4.
[21] Ibid. at para. 80.
[22] Ibid. at paras. 38, 89.
[23] Ibid. at paras. 66-68.
[24] Ibid. at paras. 72-74.
[25] Ibid. at para. 76.
[26] Ibid. at paras. 75-76.
[27] Ibid. at para. 4.
[28] Walsh v. New Brunswick, 2008 NBQB 4 at paras. 6, 33.
[29] Walsh (Re), supra note 1 at para. 96.
[30] Ibid. at paras. 73, 76.
[31] “N.B. settles Walsh wrongful conviction lawsuit,” CBC News (16 October 2009), online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/n-b-settles-walsh-wrongful-conviction-lawsuit-1.794182> (accessed 27 January 2023).
[32] CBC News, supra note 18.

 

Case Details

  • Full name:

    Erin Walsh

  • Gender identity:

    Male

  • Race/ethnicity:

    White (caucasian)

  • Age - at the time of conviction:

    26

  • Charges - specific offences:

    Non-capital murder

  • Date of conviction:

    1975-10-17

  • Date wrongful conviction was overturned:

    2008-03-14

  • Sentence - total time served:

    27 years, 00 months, 00 days

  • Legal mechanism by which wrongful conviction was overturned:

    New evidence and appeal out of time allowed

  • Status of alleged crime:

    Unknown

  • Compensation Received?

    Yes

  • Guilty plea?

    No

  • Cause(s) of wrongful conviction:

    Walsh’s wrongful conviction for murder resulted from Crown non-disclosure of extensive, crucial evidence. These materials notably included incriminating discussions between the Crown’s two star witnesses.