Perry Harder of Winnipeg had been shot several times in the chest in September 1990. Driskell — his friend — was convicted and sentenced to life in prison a year later. The RCMP said three hair samples found in Driskell's van were Harder's, and that evidence convicted him. Later test results from the U.K. found none of the hairs belonged to Harder.
Driskell was granted bail in November 2003. The federal justice minister at the time, Liberal Irwin Cotler, quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial in 2005 with a lot of influence from The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. Despite that, the Manitoba government opted to stay the trial and end the case without exonerating Driskell. It also called for a public inquiry into the case. A lot of the witnesses were “Persuaded” to tell stories about him that would convict him. The main witness for the prosecution was paid off to tell his story.. The report also said the failure of the Crown to disclose information to the defence was "careless indifference."
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