Sask. sisters convicted of murder reunite in front of courthouse with hope to clear their names
Yorkton, Sask. -
Two Indigenous sisters, who are among Canada’s longest serving female inmates, saw each other for the first time in 18 years, outside a Yorkton, Sask. courthouse on Thursday.
The Quewezance sisters were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for the death of Kamsack farmer Anthony Joseph Dolff.
Both sisters have maintained their innocence for nearly three decades and will apply for bail on Jan. 17, while federal prosecutors investigate a possible miscarriage of justice in their case.
In 2021 the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) called for the immediate release of the two sisters after Jason Keshane, a man who was with them the day of the crime, admitted to being responsible for the killing.
“I stabbed him and beat him up,” Keshane told the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
Keshane, who was a youth when the crime was committed, was handed a four-year sentence for second degree murder.
“I feel I’m ready for this. I’m really excited to see my sister,” said Odelia Quewezance moments before meeting her sister, Nerissa.
Nerissa arrived in the back of an RCMP vehicle, and then the two sisters hugged outside the Court of King’s Bench in Yorkton. They hadn’t seen each other since their father’s funeral in 2004.
“It was surreal. It was emotional when I was sitting with her in the courtroom,” Nerissa said.
The women were there for a hearing that would determine whether media can report on the upcoming bail proceedings.
Saskatchewan Crown Attorney Kelly Kaip said she requested a publication ban to ensure a fair hearing.
The sister’s defence attorney and co-founder of Innocence Canada, James Lockyer, said there is no new evidence that will taint the proceedings, and the public has a right to know.
The judge has reserved his decision on the publication ban for now, but will announce it next week.
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