N.B. stalling compensation of ailing, wrongfully convicted man: wife

Angela Walsh says her husband, 60-year-old Erin Walsh, is in the final stages of colon cancer and is stressed because a civil suit has yet to get to court in New Brunswick.

"The government knows Erin could die at any time, yet they continue to drag this on for a reason that can only mean they are waiting for him to die . . . so their debt to Erin and our family goes unpaid," she told reporters in Fredericton on Friday.

Walsh was convicted in October 1975 of using a sawed-off shotgun to kill Melvin (Chi Chi) Peters in Saint John, N.B.

Peters was shot to death in a car jammed with five people, including Walsh, after a long day of drinking and carousing in Saint John.

Walsh insisted he didn't pull the trigger, but police and prosecutors treated it like an open-and-shut case, and it took a jury only four hours to convict him.

He served 10 years in prison before getting parole.

He was acquitted in March of this year after Walsh himself uncovered information and documents relating to his case that had not been presented to the jury during the trial.

The information included evidence suggesting another person had actually shot Peters.

"Despite what the New Brunswick Court of Appeal has ruled, the office of attorney general of this province refuses to admit it's mistake. We have waited for the government of New Brunswick to do the right thing and done everything in our power to bring justice to our family, but nothing," Angela Walsh said.

"I cannot keep silent any more."

The civil suit, filed in Saint John, names the province, the Crown prosecutor in the original trial, the City of Saint John and the Saint John Police Force as defendants.

Lawyer Sean MacDonald, who represents the Walsh family, said Friday they want the government to agree with the findings of the court of appeal and avoid a protracted lawsuit.

"It's going to take months to even get to a court, and at that point it's quite likely Erin is not going to be sitting there to see justice being done," he said.

Elaine Bell, a spokesperson for the department, said the province doesn't comment on any cases before the courts.

However, later in the day, T.J. Burke, the province's justice minister and attorney general, issued a statement.

"In the circumstances in this case, I am issuing the following statement because I feel the public is being misled."

He goes on to state the province denies any attempt to delay the trial for any reason.

"Significant delays have occurred in bringing the civil matter to trial. However, these delays result primarily from the failure of the plaintiff's counsel to disclose further relevant documents to the defendants.

"The production of these documents was ordered by the court on May 30, 2008, following a long period of denial by the plaintiffs that these documents were relevant. To date, these documents have not been disclosed."

Walsh said it has been two years since her husband was told he had just six months to live.

She said he was unable to make the trip to Fredericton for the news conference because of his health, and is living life day to day.

"He's not well, he doesn't go out of the house...he's under a lot of stress and he's in a lot of pain," she said.

Angela Walsh said she doesn't want her husband to go to the grave without getting justice.

"I don't think we could ever heal fully if he was to die while all this is still going on," she said. "How could we ever heal?"