Wrongful Convictions Day Event

Monday, November 10, 2025 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

• Hybrid event
• 608, Pigiarvik, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Please join us for a panel discussion in celebration of International Wrongful Convictions Day.

Hosted by Kelly Lauzon, an adjunct professor in our department, this event is being held as part of a series of events across the country in celebration of International Wrongful Conviction Day.

We will hear the stories of Canadian exonerees Jamie Nelson and Anthony Hanemaayer. More details about our speakers can be found below.

• Jamie Nelson was wrongfully convicted in Ottawa for the 1996 kidnapping and sexual assault of Cathy Fordham. The Crown’s case hinged on Fordham’s evidence. The trial judge accepted her testimony over that of Nelson and his alibi witnesses, who swore that he had been at home with his family on the night of the alleged assault.  After spending five years under the weight of the conviction, Nelson was exonerated in August 2001 when new evidence emerged undermining Fordham’s reliability and confirming he could not have committed the crime. His case highlights the dangers of relying exclusively on witness testimony and the critical role of post-conviction review in correcting miscarriages of justice in Canada. 
• Anthony Hanemaayer was wrongfully convicted in Ontario in 1989 of breaking and entering and sexual assault in connection with an attack on a 15-year-old girl in Scarborough. His conviction was based on a mistaken eyewitness identification and a coerced confession made under the threat of a lengthy prison sentence if he went to trial. Hanemaayer pled guilty despite his innocence, serving two years in prison and living under the stigma of the conviction for nearly two decades. In 2008, serial offender Paul Bernardo confessed to committing the assault, and the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed Hanemaayer’s conviction. His case underscores the risks of false guilty pleas, the fallibility of eyewitness testimony, and the long-lasting harm caused by wrongful convictions.

This will be a hybrid event. A Zoom link will be provided upon registration. Refreshments will be provided for in-person attendees.

Please register below if you wish to attend.