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(Photo courtesy Innocence Canada)
An Indigenous man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted.
The Manitoba judge called the wrongful conviction a case that involved systemic discrimination.
More from Dan Karpenchuk.
Clarence Woodhouse, now 72, always maintained he was innocent in the killing of a restaurant worker in Winnipeg.
He was one of four men convicted in 1974 in the fatal beating and stabbing.
Woodhouse is the third man exonerated in that death.
Canada’s justice minister ordered a review of the case as possible miscarriages of justice.
A prosecuting attorney told the court that police had coerced and manufactured a statement from one of the accused who had limited English.
Clarence Woodhouse spent 12 years in prison before being paroled.
His lawyer said the case against Woodhouse was infested with racism from beginning to end.
Crown prosecutors acknowledged that systemic racism had impacted the case and led to a miscarriage of justice.
Chief Justice Glenn Joyal apologized to Woodhouse on behalf of the justice system.
That was echoed by Matt Wiebe, the Attorney General of Manitoba.
“As the Attorney General of Manitoba, I offer my heartfelt apologies to Mr. Woodhouse and his family.”
Jerome Kennedy, a lawyer for the group known as Innocence Canada, says they are working on other cases involving Indigenous men from Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
“Statistically we know that with the disproportionate number of Indigenous people in jail that there has to be wrongful convictions. Oftentimes, these people don’t known who to reach out to or how to reach out.”
As for Woodhouse, he says he’s looking forward to spending time with his son and grandchildren and probably just relax.
The indoor football team Colorado Spartans announced plans to play in Denver for the 2025 season.
The team’s owner Tony Thompson, who is half-Yankton Sioux and half Black, wants to leave a lasting legacy on and off the gridiron.
Colorado Public Radio’s Tony Gorman has more.
Thompson’s decision to relocate the team from Loveland, Colo. to the Denver Coliseum wasn’t motivated by money, but by community outreach.
The former South Dakota State football player and business owner wanted to offer affordable advertising opportunities to small business owners.
Legacy also drives Thompson, who grew up on a reservation in South Dakota.
He flies the Yankton Sioux Tribal flag at games to honor his family back home.
“My grandma, my ancestors, all that, that’s, that’s home for me. So I give love back to them because not a lot of people make it out of the res, and so I don’t know. I would not say I’m an inspiration, but I hope that they could see that, hey, we could do something.”
Thompson is offering affordable family ticket packages for the upcoming season.
He says the team also plans to be involved with youth sports once it moves to Denver.
Yes we are helping our with Hurricane #Helene response. (And, no the various looney tunes conspiracy theories about #FEMA response are not true, so let me stop you right there.) https://t.co/G8d26cxS3v
— Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. (@ChuckHoskin_Jr) October 5, 2024
The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma is offering assistance to those impacted by Hurricane Helene near the Eastern Band of Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina.
Last week, the tribe’s emergency management team along with students and staff from the Cherokee Nation Immersion School, traveled to the region to offer help.
They organized donated items and assembled food and care kits for families impacted by the storm.
The team delivery 38,000 bottles of water from the Cherokee Nation.
Students also helped with community clean up effort.
The Cherokee Nation says it has a long history of stepping forward in times of need and remains committed to providing assistance.
Michigan State University (MSU) recently announced a Native American tuition program.
The university will offer in-state tuition rates to out-of-state Native American students through the new MSU Native American Tuition Advantage Program.
According to the university, the program aims to eliminate financial barriers and increase enrollment among historically underrepresented Native American students.
The program will start in the fall of 2025.
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