The police officers and prosecutors who unjustly put David Milgaard behind bars for murder have been cleared of professional misconduct, a long-awaited probe has found.
Justice Edward MacCallum, author of the 800-page report, added that Joyce Milgaard's Herculean efforts to free her son may have actually hindered his release.
While she aimed to free her son, Joyce Milgaard "indiscriminately" attacked anyone who played a part in sending her son to jail, wrote MacCallum in the report, released Friday.
MacCallum also said an aggressive campaign by Milgaard's mother that suggested wrongdoing by investigators was "counter-productive" to freeing her son.
While MacCallum noted that Milgaard's family members mounted a formidable public awareness campaign, their efforts also created tension and resentment within the police and the Crown's office.
"There was no evidence of a frame or cover-up, but the allegations attracted national and international media attention," wrote MacCallum.
Milgaard spent 23 years in jail after he was convicted of raping and murdering Gail Miller, a young nursing aide who was found dead in a snowy Saskatoon lane on Jan. 31, 1969.
Speaking to reporters in Saskatoon Friday, Joyce Milgaard stood by her unprecedented crusade to free her son, and she said it was thanks to public awareness that her son was eventually freed.
"I really don't regret any of my actions. I did what I felt was necessary at the time and we got the result that we wanted, which is David free," she said.
"If I hadn't pushed the way I did, and all the things that I did, it wouldn't have happened."
Despite the MacCallum's findings, Joyce Milgaard still believes that police colluded to keep David behind bars.
"I've always felt there was a cover-up. I've always felt that, even through the time of the inquiry. Nothing I saw there changed that opinion."
Meanwhile, though MacCallum dismissed rumours that officers had strong-armed some witnesses, he noted that officers did make some errors.
Chief among them was not recording important statements from two key witnesses.
Additionally, MacCallum noted that the trial judge erred when he allowed into evidence an unconfirmed statement that Milgaard stabbed the woman.
Nichol John, who was Milgaard's friend, would not repeat that claim at trial, but the judge allowed the jury to hear the evidence anyway.
Among its main recommendations, the report urges the federal government to create an independent commission to review wrongful conviction claims.
"The criminal justice system failed David Milgaard, because his wrongful conviction was not detected and remedied as early as it should have been," said MacCallum.
In 1992, Milgaard was let out of jail when the Supreme Court of Canada tossed out his conviction. Five years later, DNA testing exonerated him of the murder.
In 1999, officials compensated Milgaard with a $10 million payout. That same year, a serial rapist named Larry Fisher was found guilty of the rape and murder.
Milgaard, who is now 56 and lives in Calgary, has a wife and two young kids.
With files from The Canadian Press
