Ottawa orders Appeal Court to review murder convictions of two Saskatchewan sisters

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has ordered the courts to reopen the case of two Saskatchewan sisters who spent almost three decades in prison for what may be wrongful murder convictions. Fraser says he is sending the case of Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance back to an Appeal Court for a review. Odelia was 21 when arrested. She is now 55. Nerissa was 18 at the time and is now 52. Fraser, in a statement Thursday, cited reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice occurred in the 1994 convictions. “My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts,” Fraser said. “Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, returning cases to the courts.”