Why You Need to Hire a Defence Lawyer for Your Criminal Appeal in Edmonton, Alberta
Too often we hear of stories of self-represented accused persons being pressured into pleading guilty or being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. In October, 2015, the Globe and Mail covered the story of Wendy Scott, a 30-year-old Albertan woman who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Wendy was highly vulnerable due to her low mental capacity and deficient memory. She was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. She served nearly four years in prison before a three-member panel of the Alberta Court of Appeal unanimously overturned her conviction on October 16, 2015, and ordered a new trial. The Court of Appeal found that the facts that were presented at Ms. Scott’s sentencing did not support her guilty plea. Wendy was fortunate to have legal representation for her criminal appeal.