OSHAWA, Ont. - Shortly after Tammy Marquardt was sent to prison in 1995 in the death of her two-year-old son, she had the word "freedom" tattooed on her arm.
But it wasn't until Tuesday that she could truly say she was free.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario quashed Marquardt's second-degree murder conviction earlier this year, calling her a victim of a miscarriage of justice and ordering a new trial. But rather than proceed with a new trial Tuesday, the Crown withdrew the charge because of how much time had passed and the "flawed" evidence of the now notorious former pathologist Charles Smith.
Ontario Superior Court Judge Michael Brown said it's tragic that it took so long to uncover Smith's mistakes and conveyed to her his "deepest regret."
"You're free to go, ma'am," he said.
Marquardt placed her hand on her chest as she appeared to struggle to catch her breath, hugged her lawyer and moments later walked outside the courthouse clutching a picture of her son Kenneth.
"Honestly, I never thought I would see this day," Marquardt said. ''I thought, 'There is no justice. They're going to believe him and they're not going to believe somebody like me.'"
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Crown withdraws murder charge against Charles Smith victim
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