A public inquiry into the wrongful murder conviction of Robert Baltovich will not take place, Ontario's attorney general confirmed Friday.
Last month, Baltovich was acquitted in the 1990 murder of Elizabeth Bain after the Crown announced it would not be proceeding with its case against him.
It was the second time the 42-year-old librarian was to be tried for murdering his girlfriend.
The first time, in 1992, he was found guilty and spent eight years in jail before an appeals court overturned the decision and ordered a new trial.
"I've given this matter a great deal of thought,'' Attorney General Chris Bentley said Friday.
"I've listened carefully to the reasons for and against another inquiry into this matter, and I've concluded that another inquiry into this case will not provide additional information to strengthen the administration of justice.''
Bentley said he spoke with the Bain family on Thursday.
"It would be impossible for anyone not to be moved when you meet with the parents of Elizabeth," he said.
The minister said he told the Bain family that the province was committed to improving the system so that justice could be carried out faster in similar situations in the future.
Bentley also said he told Baltovich's lawyers on Thursday that their client had received a fair trial but that it took too long for him to get it.
He said there was no request made for compensation.
Baltovich's lawyer James Lockyer condemned Bentley's decision, saying he tried to convince the attorney general in a meeting earlier this week to hold an inquiry.
"It's a case that now looks like it's doomed to never being solved, which is a terrible thing,'' said Lockyer, a prominent criminal lawyer who has been involved in exposing a number of wrongful conviction cases in Canada.
"The justice system made such a mess of this case. For 18 years, they made a mess of it and nothing's going to be done to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else.''
Lockyer said he hasn't been able to speak to Baltovich, who took his first plane trip on Sunday to visit relatives out west.
"I know he'll be disappointed,'' he said.
Opposition parties also criticized Bentley's decision, and said the province's justice system needs to be improved.
"The failure of the attorney general to respond responsibly and to call an inquiry compounds the injustice that's been done to Baltovich," said NDP justice critic Peter Kormos.
"I don't think the attorney general gets it," said Conservative Leader John Tory.
"I'm very disappointed in the fact that he's chosen not to have an inquiry not just into the Baltovich matter, but also into the justice system as a whole."
In an interview with CTV Toronto after his acquittal last month, Baltovich said a public inquiry could be the key to exposing weaknesses in the justice system that almost cost him his freedom.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press
