November 5, 1998
(Justice)

The following statement was issued today by Chris Decker, Minister of Justice, at a news conference held at Confederation Building:

Today an acquittal has been entered at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland in the murder charge against Gregory Parsons. Based upon further investigation and the results of DNA analysis received in the past 10 days, investigators and officials responsible for the prosecution of this case are now fully satisfied that Mr. Parsons did not have any involvement in the killing of his mother, Catherine Carroll.

I will take just a moment to give you a brief history of this case. In 1991, Mr. Parsons was charged with the murder of his mother. In 1994, he was convicted by a judge and jury and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent a total of 68 days in jail. Subsequently, the Newfoundland Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and a new trial was ordered. Before that trial, new DNA methodology allowed previously untested samples of evidence to be tested. The results of the new DNA tests indicated that the samples had not come from Mr. Parsons. The Crown then entered a stay of proceedings while further investigation and DNA testing was undertaken by police to provide further clarification. As a result of those tests and investigation, police and prosecutors have concluded, on the basis of the evidence now available, that Mr. Parsons is innocent.

As Minister of Justice, and on behalf of government and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, I wish to offer sincere apologies to Gregory Parsons and his family for the disruption to their lives and the extreme anguish they have had to endure over the past eight years.

Government has requested retired Supreme Court Justice Nathaniel Noel to conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of the investigation and prosecution in this case.

In undertaking his review Judge Noel will have the full cooperation of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the Office of the Crown Prosecutor, and full access to all police and Crown prosecution records. As well, he can receive such submissions and conduct such enquiries as he sees fit.

Judge Noel has also been asked to recommend whether government should pay compensation to Mr. Parsons, and if so, to indicate what constitutes appropriate compensation. Government will make a decision on this issue when it receives Judge Noel's report. Judge Noel's report will be made public.

In conclusion, I would again like to apologize to Mr. Parsons for all he has been through in the last eight years.

1998 11 05              12:25 p.m.