Anthony Joseph Dolff, was farmer in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, who was killed in 1993. He was stabbed 17 times, hit on the head with a television, and strangled with a telephone cord. Three Saulteaux people, members of the Keeseekoose First Nation, were convicted of the crime. One, Jason Keshane, 14 years old at the time of the crime, confessed to the killing and as a juvenile was sentenced to two years in prison for second degree murder. His cousins, sisters Nerissa and Odelia Quewezance, 19 and 21 at the time, were sentenced to life in prison. Neither confessed and both have maintained their innocence at all times.[1] Dolff had been a maintenance man at the residential school the two sisters attended. That night they reportedly drank a great deal of liquor and took prescription sleeping pills at Dolff's house, where he pestered them for sex. When he discovered that Odelia had taken money from his bedroom, a violent confrontation took place, in the course of which he was killed.[2]

The sisters' convictions are considered by many people to be a miscarriage of justice. Keshane, maintains that his cousins were not involved in the killing. The two sisters asked for a lawyer when they were arrested but were interrogated for five days in RCMP custody without one.[1] The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has called for their exoneration and release, as has Innocence Canada.[1] Two retired judges, Harry LaForme, the first indigenous lawyer to serve on an appellate court in Canada, and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, the first Black judge in Quebec, have also called for their release.[3] David Milgaard, who was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder, also believes that they are innocent and has called for their release.[4][5] In May 2022, Senators Kim Pate, Dawn Anderson, and Yvonne Boyer issued a report[6] calling for the review of the cases of 12 indigenous women including the Quewezance sisters (designated in the report as "N.Q." and "O.Q.") and their exoneration.[7] In June, 2022 Justice Minister David Lametti agreed to review their convictions.[8] In March 2023, Saskatchewan judge Donald Layh ordered the release on bail of the two Quewezance sisters.[9]

The sisters story was the topic of a 2020 APTN Investigates two-part documentary called A Life Sentence[10] that introduced the case to the mainstream media. Investigative journalists Holly Moore and John Murray travelled to Keeseekoose First Nation where they tracked down Jason Keshane and he repeated his confession on camera.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Thomson, Carol (2021-05-25). "Congress Claims Two Jailed Sisters are Innocent". CJWW Radio. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  2. ↑ Pruden, Jana (2021-12-15). "Indigenous sisters struggle to undo a 1994 murder conviction and break a cycle of parole and punishment". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  3. ↑ Martens, Kathleen (2021-09-22). "'A case of potential wrongful conviction': retired judges lobby for release of First Nations sisters". APTN News. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  4. ↑ Milgaard, David (2021-05-28). Free Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance a Plea From David Milgaard. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  5. ↑ Owen, Brenna (2022-05-17). "Milgaard pushed for action on Indigenous sisters' wrongful conviction claims". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  6. ↑ Pate, Kim; Anderson, Dawn; Boyer, Yvonne (2022-05-16). "Injustices and miscarriages of justice experienced by 12 indigenous women: a case for group conviction review and exoneration by the Department of Justice via the Law Commission of Canada and/or the Miscarriages of Justice Commission" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  7. ↑ White, Patrick (2022-05-16). "Senators call for exoneration of 12 Indigenous women who endured 'systemic inequality' in Canada's criminal justice system". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  8. ↑ "Indigenous sisters hope for exoneration after almost 30 years in prison system". CBC Radio - The Current. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  9. ↑ White, Patrick (28 March 2023). "Saskatchewan judge orders release of sisters jailed for 30 years for a murder they say they didn't commit". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  10. ↑ A Life Sentence - Part 1 | APTN Investigates, retrieved 2022-07-01
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