Overview

• On Sept. 29, Justice Minister Sean Fraser ordered a new appeal in the late Russell Woodhouse’s case, marking Canada’s first post‑mortem remedy under the Criminal Code.
• An in‑depth federal review found reasonable grounds to conclude a miscarriage of justice likely occurred in Woodhouse’s 1974 manslaughter conviction.
• The order sends the case back to the courts to consider new information and does not decide guilt or innocence.
• Woodhouse, from Pinaymootang First Nation, died in 2011; his co‑accused Brian Anderson, Allan Woodhouse and Clarence Woodhouse have been exonerated and are seeking compensation.
• The application was filed in 2023 by his sister Linda Anderson with support from Innocence Canada, as Ottawa shifts conviction reviews to a new Winnipeg‑based commission that is not yet operational.