Home

On June 5, 2001, the Network for Justice in Hamilton held a news conference to announce the formation of the group and to apprise the media of the newly discovered evidence that was found by the Osgoode Hall law students and the Burke family members, as well as to announce the launching of a lawsuit against the Hamilton Police for negligence, misfeasance, assault and battery, among other causes of action. The Network is seeking a new and competent investigation into the murder of Gerald Burke and a declaration that Gary Staples did not commit the murder.

Gary Staples speaking at news conference

Law students Dean Ring & Colleen Robertshaw

Lawyer Sean Dewart speaking

New evidence in police files shows Hamilton Police were implicated in wrongful conviction for 1969 murder of Gerald Burke

* $6 M suit names Hamilton police board, police chief, and 5 officers.

* Malicious prosecution and conspiracy are among 7 allegations.

* Families of both the murder victim and the wrongly-convicted join in same lawsuit.

* Lawsuit seeks Court order for new and competent police investigation.

(HAMILTON, ONTARIO, Tuesday, June 5, 2001) New evidence in a 1969 Hamilton murder case pointing to gross misconduct by the Hamilton Police Department was revealed today at a news conference in downtown Hamilton.

In an internal police memo dated May 7, 1972 to his superiors, the officer in charge of the murder investigation admitted that information about two witnesses at the murder scene was not disclosed precisely because it would have caused the jury to acquit the man Hamilton police had charged with the murder, Gary Staples. In the memo, the officer admitted that the evidence had been held back because it was inconsistent with the evidence of a key Crown witness. The officer wrote that he was reluctant to put the matter down on paper at all.

The new evidence was revealed by lawyer Sean Dewart, who represents both Mr. Staples and Robert Denison and Darrin Burke, the sons of Gerald Burke, who was murdered in Hamilton on December 5, 1969. The memo was discovered on October 30, 2000 by two law students who were permitted to inspect the police file.

"This new evidence demonstrates that 30 years ago, members of the Hamilton police department who had taken an oath to uphold the law, deliberately suppressed evidence" Dewart said. "In their own words, they did so because they thought this evidence 'would' lead to Gary Staples' acquittal. Because of what they did, Mr. Staples was convicted of a murder he had nothing to do with, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Even after he was ultimately acquitted in 1972, his life was a living hell and to the present he is shunned in his own community."

Dewart added: "To this day, Gerald Burke's sons, who were toddlers when their father was murdered, don't know who is responsible for the crime. All they do know is that the Hamilton police refuse to do their job. The lawsuit which has been started is unique in that the children of the man who was murdered have joined together with the man who was wrongly accused, to see that justice is fully done."

Colleen Robertshaw and Dean Ring, the Osgoode Hall law students who found the incriminating memo on October 30, 2000, were not allowed to make photocopies of the materials but copied them in their own hand-writing.

Ring, a former forensic analyst with the Ontario Provincial Police said: "If the Hamilton police had permitted us to make a photocopy of the memo, we would be showing it to you today." Robertshaw added: "What we took down in writing is what is in that memo. Our written notes are accurate." Excerpts from her handwritten notes were distributed to attending media.

Dewart also read a statement made by Walter Stayshyn who was one of Mr. Staples lawyers at the murder trials in the 1970s. Mr. Justice Stayshyn is now a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Upon learning of the Osgoode Law School discovery of the internal police memo which reveals that the police had withheld highly material information from him and the other lawyers on Mr. Staples defence team, Justice Stayshyn stated: "I was upset and disappointed to learn long after the fact that material information was suppressed, which led to a miscarriage of justice, and to Gary Staples being imprisoned for almost two years for a crime he had not committed."


The lawsuit, served on the Police Services Board last week calls for "a thorough and competent police investigation". The Statement of Claim also seeks $5M in damages for negligence, malicious prosecution, misfeasance in public office, conspiracy and assault and battery; as well as $1M for punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages.

Dewart referred to Police Chief Kenneth Robertson's positive reputation and said that this would be an important factor in resolving the matter.

Todays announcement was sponsored by the NETWORK for Justice in Hamilton comprising about 50 residents of Hamilton and the environs. "Gary, Bob and Darrin have suffered long enough. Our NETWORK is determined to see that justice is served and we encourage all Canadians to call, write or visit our website to support these very brave families" said Herman Janzen, one of the NETWORK Co-Chairs.