Was Nova Scotia’s last hanging a wrongful conviction?

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In July 1933, two Halifax boys were found dead by the train tracks. Daniel Perry Sampson, a Black WWI veteran, was hanged for their murder. Almost a century later, his great-great-grandson – a celebrated musical artist – is fighting to clear his name.

Lance Sampson, aka Aquakultre, won the 2018 CBC Searchlight competition and has been nominated for three Polaris awards. His lawyer David Steeves is a civil litigator based in Toronto.

Verdicts & Voices is a legal current affairs podcast presented by the Canadian Bar Association. With her retinue of expert guests, host Alison Crawford keeps listeners up to date on news, views, and stories about the law and the justice system in Canada.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of the CBA.

Transcript

Hello, listeners. You're tuning in to Verdicts & Voices, a weekly legal affairs podcast from the Canadian Bar Association. And I'm your host, Alison Crawford.

Two weeks ago, Ontario's Court of Appeal found that a mother had been wrongly convicted of killing her infant son more than 20 years ago. And at roughly the same time in Saskatchewan, Canada's Justice Minister, Sean Fraser, referred the murder convictions of two First Nations sisters to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. He said there were reasonable grounds to conclude that there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Now, wrongful convictions don't happen when only one thing goes wrong. They occur when there have been a series of failures in the criminal justice system. And it's hard to uncover these failures, especially with the passage of time. But that isn't deterring David Steeves, the lawyer who has been working for years to clear the name of the last man who was executed for a crime his family says he never committed.

Joining me now to discuss the case of Daniel Perry Sampson is his great-great-grandson Lance Sampson and lawyer David Steeves.

I'll just start with you, David. Could you tell our listeners how Daniel Sampson, a Black veteran of the First World War, ended up at the Halifax gallows in 1935?

David Steeves

So on July 19, 1933, two young boys were found dead alongside the railway tracks just outside of what was then the city boundary for Halifax, in a historically Black community named Beechville. The two young boys, aged 10 and 12, Bramwell and Edward Heffernan. Initially many people thought that they had died because of a horrible interaction with the train, but there was an inconclusive coroner's inquest that didn't provide answers. That led to questions within the community, a failed police investigation that went on for months that didn't get an answer, and questions really as to whether it was a maniacal murderer, somebody who was just shy of criminally insane who killed the boys, or whether it was the train. And there weren't any good answers. But after months, the police just happened to arrest Daniel Perry Sampson, again, a World War One vet. And they said that he confessed to the crime, that he signed a confession to murdering both boys. Unfortunately, years later we know that just wasn't true.

Alison

How did he come to the attention of the police?

David Steeves

That's really unclear. At the time it was unclear. We now know why. At the time it was said that they were conducting investigations in the community, and in conversations with people, some discrepancies in his story caused the police to visit him multiple times over the course of four months. Fresh evidence, which I'm not able to disclose at this time, explains more why he actually came under police attention.

Alison

Okay. Well, I'll want to get more into those details, what you can tell me, a little bit later, but I'd like to ask Lance, when did you first learn of this family history?

Lance Sampson

I'm 34 years old, born in 1992. I want to say that I first started hearing about this from my grandmother when I was around eleven or twelve, thirteen, as much as I was around and actually comprehending what Nanny was trying to tell me. Mind you, my grandmother's pretty old school. If you ain't listening, she ain't telling you nothing. But it wasn't really until I got a lot older, closer to my thirties, when I spent a lot of time with my grandmother getting to know who she was, that she retold me this story. And that's when I really started to feel the weight of it. It's always been a story that was within my family. My aunt Paula, my grandmother's daughter, was someone who looked into this as well. And there was actually a story on, what was it, CTV, where they got the families together. They got the Heffernan side of the family and my Sampson family together to really talk about what they know about the case.

Alison

And what did the family tell you? What was the family version of the story?

Lance Sampson

My grandmother's version is what we were told, and what we were reading in the papers was, these two boys got found unfortunately dead by the train tracks close to Beechville, and that my grandfather was arrested and convicted for it, but, you know, it wasn't true. But that story, of being arrested and being tried and being charged with something in my community, is not new. There's all kinds of that happening. It happened to me in my own lifetime. So when that's told to you, especially someone who was involved in the street, it was like, okay, whatever, it happens, type stuff. But that's kind of what was told to us: this thing happened, these two boys got killed, or were found dead by the train tracks. In her words, my grandfather was arrested and found guilty of it, but she knew that it wasn't true. And she must have heard that from Daniel P.'s wife, Rita Medley. That story must have been told down to my grandmother, and my grandmother believed it to be true until the day that she died. She knew that this wasn't something that her grandfather was guilty of.

Alison

Now, David, what are the legal steps that you've taken so far?

David Steeves

Well, this was a really unique case because at the time, and I wasn't aware of it, it was one of the first posthumous applications to go forward. The other one being the successful application by Innocence Canada in the Russell Woodhouse case that's now before the Manitoba Court of Appeal*. But in this case, because Daniel died intestate, I needed to have a means for someone to consent to the application. So I needed to have the estate re-enlivened, which was a relatively unique process. I'm not aware of it having been done before elsewhere in the context of a criminal conviction review application. But I worked with a lawyer and a paralegal from McInnes Cooper, Folami Jones and Ann Lisney, and they got what I understand to be the first order of its kind in Nova Scotia that reenlivened the estate and named Lance and his late grandmother as estate administrators. They can then instruct me and appear before the court and do what the court recognizes as required of litigants in an appeal process.

Then we sought to get evidence. The first thing that I found that I can really speak about happened about three years ago. I had been out with friends. Lance and I had been talking a bit at that point, but he asked me to find something about Daniel's father. And I ended up doing a bit of research at the Nova Scotia Archives. And it was around midnight one night. And I pulled up Daniel's marriage record and I looked at it. My jaw hit the floor. And the reason why was because I saw Daniel's signature, full signature, witnessed and certified with his ability to read and write by the officiating Church of England minister. So Daniel could read and write. And why that was significant was at the time of his arrest, the arresting RCMP officer said that he signed his confession, purported confession, with an X mark because he didn't have sufficient education and didn't know how to read and write. And that, frankly, was not true.

Then I set about getting more information, and speaking to your question about what process I followed, I had to make a complaint after doing some ATIP requests to the RCMP and to Library and Archives Canada to get the RCMP investigative file. According to the RCMP's document retention policy, for significant cases, after a period of about seven years, if the case is still significant for a legal, historical or other purpose, it's deaccessioned to Library and Archives Canada. When I made my initial ATIP request, they said they didn't have anything. And given that this was the last execution in Halifax, they should have had documents. So that led me to a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. They investigated and provided an initial finding that LAC didn't have anything. I said, well, again, respectfully, I don't think that's the case. I think you have to look a little more and further. And they did, to their credit. And about nine months after my initial request, the response I got back was, “Good news. The documents have been located.” And in that RCMP investigative file are at least a dozen pieces of fresh evidence that clearly demonstrate prosecutorial and police misconduct.

Alison

Lance, what was it like for you to learn of this evidence, starting with the confession and then the additional information?

Lance Sampson

Well, I mean, it was actually quite a surprise when David sent over that document that had his signature on it. I didn't even notice it. I was like, what am I looking at? You know what I mean? And it actually took a little bit of, “Oh no, look at this, the significance of this signature and what it means.” And I was like, wow. My reaction to it is still kind of fresh. That feeling is still kind of fresh. I don't think I've experienced a feeling like this, where I'm actually on the right side of justice this time. You know what I mean? And I think it was very meaningful for my grandmother to hear what she knew to be true all this time. It was really great to be able to give her that. And when more and more stuff came in, I personally was like, well, you know, at the time, it's 1935. I don't think I have an expectation that the RCMP would do anything less than what they were doing at the time, because again, in my generation, they're still doing crazy stuff. So I mean, they were just probably getting away with a lot more back then. So yeah, I think it was to be able to go back to my grandmother and be like, “Yo, Nanny, check this out. You were right.” You know? That was a great feeling. As Nanny said before she… the orders that she gave us were the truth. The truth's gotta come out, and that's what's happening.

Alison

And when did she pass?

Lance Sampson

She passed away September 21, last year.

Alison

So she was able to hear some of this latest news, which is amazing. That's amazing.

Lance Sampson

Absolutely. Absolutely. Unfortunately she's not going to be able to be there to see the end of it physically, but spiritually she'll be able to, and we're making this happen. It's an amazing, amazing journey.

Alison

David, what has happened since you filed the application for a criminal conviction review?

David Steeves

It's been now a year and a half. I'm advised that the application is still in the preliminary assessment phase, which the government indicates should take between a few weeks and several months, which I generally understand to be, you know, a month to six. We're about a year past that, and we're still waiting. So I'm not sure. I think the government has very clear evidence that a miscarriage of justice occurred. Frankly, I think this is one of those cases that shouldn't lead to an investigative stage. It should be referred directly to the Court of Appeal. I've said this on multiple occasions in correspondence.

Alison

Lance, can you explain why it's so important to you, your family and society to ensure that this case does get full consideration?

Lance Sampson

Daniel P. Sampson's was one of the first. So why not prioritize that, you know? I think what it will do for the family, what I think it'll do for my community: on a community lens, I think it'll allow my community to be able to look back to a further date, to understand how long these injustices have been happening in our community. What I notice, especially someone in my generation, especially the men of my generation, we don't know how to advocate for ourselves. We've been born and bred and taught to be silent. When it comes to dealing with the police, don't deal with the police. Don't speak up when it comes to the judge or your lawyers in your case. It's basically just, you get charged, you go to jail, you do your time. What I would hope that it does as a community, what it does for our generation, is give us a national situation that's happening in our community that we can actually look back to, to understand what that injustice was, and look forward to the future of understanding how important it is for us to fight for justice. When it comes to the family, I'm not sure what it will do. I'm not sure what it will do. I just know that it's going to feel really great for my grandmother's wish to come to light. It's going to feel great for her to finally not have the burden of holding on to this truth and nobody understanding or listening to that truth.

It's going to release that. I don't know what it's going to do for us who've actually already been through those experiences. Our brains and our thoughts have already been conditioned into looking at law and justice in a certain way. I don't know what it's going to do, but I just know this one thing within our family: it's going to help our next generation to understand that justice is actually the way, and fighting and advocating for it, it takes time. As David said, “Yo, it's been a year and a half.” You know what I mean? It's not overnight.

Alison

Now, David, you've been at this for many years. How long have you been pursuing justice for Mr. Sampson?

David Steeves

I first learned about the case back in 2000 when I spoke with poet and professor George Elliott Clarke. I was at a poetry reading in Moncton, New Brunswick, where I lived at the time. And it was the spring before I started law school at Dal. And I was actually picking up a gift for a provincial court judge who I was job shadowing at the time, just to figure out if I really wanted to do this law thing or not. And I saw that George was on the list. I had done a degree in English and history, and I was familiar with his work. So I stopped into the reading and he read from a collection of poems that would go on to become the Governor General's Award-winning collection, Execution Poems. And the only poem in that collection that wasn't about his own cousins, George's cousins, was a poem called “1933” about Daniel P. And George and I got talking. He said that we should continue to stay in touch. We did. I invited him to speak at Dal. And the only way that would work was for me to drive to Sackville, New Brunswick, where he was lecturing as a guest lecturer at the time, drive him to Halifax, back to Sackville, and get myself back to Halifax for a class. And on that ride he told me about Daniel. I wrote a paper on it when I did my master's of law degree at Dal. That came out, it was published back in 2012. I've spoken about it over the years. So I've carried this case in one way or another for about 25 years, but actively as counsel for Lance, it's been about two years now.

Alison

I think there's something really beautiful about the fact that you're inspired by a poem and this story.

 

David Steeves

Poetic justice.

 

Yes. And Lance, some of our listeners may know you better as the musical artist Aquakultre, and you've released two amazing albums that were nominated for the Polaris Prize, and you just performed at the Polaris Festival, and you performed your piece Gallows. I just find that amazing, that this link through poetry and art has really brought you two together.

Lance Sampson

And might I add, performing with the person who brought David Steeves on this journey in the first place, George Elliott Clarke. He recited a poem that he wrote specifically for that moment called “Gallows.” And I also want to, not to brag and boast, but this is the third album that has been Polaris-nominated. My first one was Legacy.

Alison

I’m sorry about that.

Lance Sampson

It’s not a big deal. But you know, I just had to splash it out there. My first one, Legacy, my second one, Don't Trip, and now this one, 1783, which I find to be the one that matters the most to me, because this is history, Black history that we're talking about in Nova Scotia, brought to the national stage. And what better way to be a Black Nova Scotian on that stage? What better way to bring everybody together intergenerationally. This whole album is meant to bring us together intergenerationally. Yeah. It's pretty insane how everything is working, how everything's universally coming together. I don't think things happen on coincidence. I think everything does happen for a reason. And the other interesting fact that I'll add into that is my grandmother used to babysit George Elliott Clarke.

Alison

My goodness.

Lance Sampson

And the other interesting thing, Alison, that I will say too, is this case, this story of Daniel P. Sampson, there are so many people that are in my life now that have an interesting connection to this case. My manager, for instance. I think it was her great-uncle who was one of the RCMP officers that investigated Daniel P. Sampson. The place that I get my African Nova Scotian books is called Doull Books. John Doull Books. John Doull is the judge that sentenced Daniel P. Sampson. The other thing too that I forgot to mention is we just came from Toronto. We did a community listening party up there. What a community listening party is, is basically I'm diving into some of the records that I've collected on my research journey that helped inspire 1783, and telling the stories of those songs. We invited a man named Ricky Atkinson to come and play at that community listening party. There's this housing project in Toronto called the Atkinson Co-op, named after his father. Ricky Atkinson's... I think it was his great-grandfather, and we've never met each other before in our lives, Ricky Atkinson, but I've read his book, I read his story. His great-grandfather and Daniel P. Sampson were best buds. They were best friends.

And when that happened to Daniel P. Sampson, he ended up moving to Toronto, leaving behind his whole life to come to Toronto, because what Ricky thinks is, he was afraid that what happened to Daniel P. Sampson might happen to him. Why he thought that, who knows? But that's an interesting connection to have. What this case is doing, it's unlocking so many memories for folks. It's amazing what it's doing, and I'm just really excited to see where this leads, where it goes. I know we're doing the right thing, putting in the right applications, and we're putting pressure where it needs to be. And there's just a lot of support with this case, and it's amazing. It's amazing.

Alison

Yeah. Well, I'm also equally interested in finding out where this goes. Lance and David, I'd like to thank you both for sharing this fascinating and tragic story. And I really hope you get the answers that you're looking for and that they come sooner than you expect.

Lance Sampson

Beautiful.

David Steeves

Thanks, Alison.

Alison

I've been talking to Lance Sampson, also known as the artist Aquakultre, and Toronto-based civil litigator David Steeves. Thank you for listening to my last episode of Verdicts & Voices. I’m about to start a new job where I won’t be able to join you every week. Hosting this project has been a lot of fun. I’ve loved coming up with ideas and guests to stimulate discussion and keep you up to date about Canadian legal news and views. And I know that I’ve certainly learned a lot.

But don’t worry, Verdicts & Voices will be back next week with a guest host, and this time, I’ll be with you in the audience.

This podcast is produced by the Canadian Bar Association. And I have been your host, Alison Crawford.

* The audio mistakenly refers to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.