One of two men exonerated of murder charges last year has died.
Robert Mailman was 77 when he died on Oct. 9.
Mailman, along with Walter Gillespie, were convicted in the 1983 murder of Saint John man George Leeman.
Mailman served 18 years of a life sentence before being granted parole. He and Gillespie spent four decades trying to clear their names, finally achieving their goal in January 2024.
Gillespie died just three months later, while Mailman had received a terminal diagnosis just before their exoneration.
Innocence Canada played an important part in clearing both men’s names. Board member Ron Dalton had been involved with this particular case for some time, even before Innocence Canada.
Dalton met both Mailman and Gillespie while he was serving time.
“I was doing the jailhouse lawyer thing,” Dalton said. “I was writing a few letters for them, doing some typing and doing whatever we could to try and get some traction on their case.”
Dalton said that was prior to Innocence Canada even existing. He got involved with the organization after his own case was resolved.
“I knew there were others out there like mine,” he said. “I looked around for a way to give back.”
Dalton said he felt a sense of satisfaction when Mailman and Gillespie were exonerated.
“I was there with them and of course I was also there to walk them out of court a couple of years ago when they were finally exonerated,” he said.
Mailman and Gillespie were exonerated 40 years after being convicted in 1984.
“It’s a case that’ll leave an indelible mark on the New Brunswick justice system,” Dalton said. “But it has national implications as well.
Asked if Mailman’s death soured the victory achieved last year, Dalton said the victory was already a bit hollow.
“Mr. Mailman was 35 years old when he was arrested and charged with this homicide,” Dalton said. “He spent over half of his life serving a life sentence that he didn’t deserve.”
Dalton said even after Mailman was released on parole, he wasn’t exactly free.
“He still had conditions, he still needed permission from his parole officer to do things.”
But Mailman didn’t give up on clearing his name.
“What can really be said about Bobby though is he was a fighter, and a fighter right till the end,” Dalton said.
