Justice advocate David Milgaard, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent more than two decades in prison, has died. He was 69 years old.
His longtime friend, Peace Region resident Heather Irwin, remembers him as a kind and caring man, who was like a big brother to her. She met Milgaard while he and her brother were serving time in Stony Mountain Penitentiary together.
“He stood up for what happened to him,” says Irwin. “And I’m very thankful for him making those changes in today’s day and age.”
Milgaard became a justice advocate after he was wrongfully convicted in 1970 for the rape and murder of Gail Miller in Saskatoon. Milgaard and two friends had been on a road trip, driving through the city when the murder happened. A year later, at the age of 17, Milgaard was convicted of Miller's murder and handed a life sentence.
He spent 23 years in prison before his release in 1992 following a review of his case by the Supreme Court of Canada, and exoneration by DNA evidence in 1997.
"It was the most terrible, terrible moments in my life when the justice department just messed things up so terribly for me," Milgaard told CTV News while in Winnipeg in 2020 speaking on a panel at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights about wrongful convictions.
Irwin says Milgaard struggled to adjust to the world after he got out of prison. But she adds that he was “always a very forgiving man.”
“Even through all that he’s been through, his moving forward in life was to be happy, and to be at peace, and to love his kids as much as he has,” said Irwin.
Milgaard maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison. His mother Joyce Milgaard, who died in 2020, tirelessly advocated on her son's behalf. In the decades since his release, Milgaard had spoken publicly, calling for changes in how Canadian courts review convictions.
His picture is now included in the Canadian Journey's gallery at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Isha Khan, the museum's CEO, said Milgaard was a human rights defender.
"He is someone we know, and the reason we know is because he was able to tell his story, and it takes a special kind of person to continue to try to connect with people," she said, adding his work is not over.
"There are people across this country in correctional institutions who have been wrongfully convicted, who need a voice and don't have a voice that David Milgaard did for whatever reason it may be, and it is our job to listen and to look for those stories."
Irwin hopes Milgaard’s advocacy work and his memory will continue to be felt across the country.
“I hope Dave Milgaard’s legacy will always be the superhero in Canada that he was, for proving his innocence with his mom, Joyce,” said Irwin. “I hope that will never be taken. And I hope he carries it forward.”
With files from CTV Winnipeg.
