Richard McArthur

Case Summary

On January 24, 1986, Richard McArthur fatally stabbed another inmate at the Drumheller Institution in Alberta.1 McArthur, who is Indigenous, had just begun serving a 3 ½ year prison sentence for assault and robbery.2 He told police that the deceased had come to his cell, “acting as if he had a knife and was about to use it . . . so he stabbed the deceased with his own knife” in self-defence.3

At his trial, the Crown prosecutor did not dispute that McArthur “was afraid of the deceased, who had threatened him.”4 However, the Crown’s theory was that rather than protecting himself from a man who had come to his cell to kill him, McArthur, “fearing an attack, obtained a knife and made a pre-emptive strike on the deceased in the deceased’s cell.”5 McArthur did not testify at his trial – during which he was still an inmate – nor were any eyewitnesses called.6 His police statement was also not put into evidence.7

The trial judge agreed with the Crown’s theory, concluding that McArthur had come to the deceased’s cell and stabbed him, and that this act was not in self-defence since the deceased was not attacking McArthur at the time.8 On February 12, 1987, McArthur was convicted of second degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 12 years.9

McArthur appealed his conviction to the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Court dismissed his appeal, and he continued to serve his sentence.10

A few years later, however, McArthur coincidentally met four other inmates serving time at Edmonton Institution (to which they had all been transferred) who had observed the events leading up to the stabbing.11 Three of them had seen the deceased go to McArthur’s cell, carrying a knife; the fourth could attest that McArthur feared him.12 

The RCMP had interviewed all four witnesses in the aftermath of the stabbing, but each had claimed to know nothing about it, not wanting to get involved.13 However, upon meeting McArthur in 1989 or 1990 – and learning that he had been convicted of second degree murder – they came forward to help.14

In 1991, McArthur applied to the Minister of Justice to review his case and send it back to the Court of Appeal to be reopened (in accordance with Section 690, now 696.1, of the Criminal Code).15 In 1998, the Minister of Justice referred McArthur’s case back to the Alberta Court of Appeal, directing the court to consider how the new corroborating evidence should impact his conviction.16 The court reviewed sworn statements from all four witnesses supporting McArthur’s explanation that he had acted in self-defence, as well as McArthur’s own police statement that had not been in evidence at his trial.17

McArthur and his lawyer, Hersh Wolch, asked the court to acquit him in light of this new evidence that he had acted in self-defence. Moreover, since he had already served the time required for parole eligibility, “it would be cruel” as well as pointless “to subject him to a new trial.”18 The Crown maintained that, notwithstanding the four corroborating witnesses, McArthur could potentially still be found guilty at a new trial. However, in the circumstances, the Crown agreed that he should be acquitted.19

The Alberta Court of Appeal quashed McArthur’s murder conviction and acquitted him on April 13, 1999.20 Both McArthur and Wolch criticised the Department of Justice for its slow response to McArthur’s wrongful conviction. Wolch described the six-year lag before the Minister of Justice sent McArthur’s case back to the Court of Appeal as “unconscionable,” and stated that McArthur intended to seek compensation for his wrongful conviction.21 No public record has been discovered regarding a potential lawsuit.


[1] R v McArthur, 1999 ABCA 117 at paras 5-6, 8 [McArthur]; “New evidence likely to clear Sask. man jailed for murder”, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix (10 April 1999) A14 [StarPhoenix]; Ron Collins, “Cleared of murder: Acquitted man pays tribute to his brother”, Calgary Herald (4 April 1999) A1 [Collins 1].
[2] StarPhoenix, supra note 1; Collins 1, supra note 1.
[3] McArthur, supra note 1 at para 6.
[4] Ibid. at para 5.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid. at paras 6, 11.
[7] Ibid. at para 6.
[8] Ibid. at para 7.
[9] Ibid. at para 5; Star-Phoenix, supra note 1.
[10] McArthur, supra note 1 at para 7.
[11] Ibid. at para 8.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] McArthur, supra note 1 at para 8; Ron Collins, “Ex-inmate wants payback: lawyer calls six-year delay unconscionable”, Calgary Herald (15 April 1999) A1 [Collins 2].
[15] McArthur, supra note 1 at para 3; Collins 2, supra note 14.
[16] McArthur, supra note 1 at para 3.
[17] Ibid. at paras 8, 11.
[18] Ibid. at paras 12-13.
[19] Ibid. at paras 14-15.
[20] Ibid. at para 16.
[21] Collins 1, supra note 1; Collins 2, supra note 14.

 

Case Details

  • Full name:

    Richard McArthur

  • Gender identity:

    Male

  • Race/ethnicity:

    Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Native American, etc.)

  • Age - at the time of conviction:

    23

  • Charges - specific offences:

    Second degree murder

  • Date of conviction:

    1987-02-12

  • Date wrongful conviction was overturned:

    1999-04-13

  • Sentence - total time served:

    12 years, 01 months, 10 days

  • Legal mechanism by which wrongful conviction was overturned:

    696/690 and new appeal with new evidence

  • Status of alleged crime:

    No Crime Occurred

  • Compensation Received?

    Unknown

  • Guilty plea?

    No

  • Cause(s) of wrongful conviction:

    McArthur was wrongfully convicted of second degree murder after stabbing another prison inmate in self-defence. Four other inmates later came forward, confirming that McArthur had acted to defend himself.