The Coffin Affair: A Miscarriage of Justice Revisited

Kathryn Campbell
  • 5.0 (1)
  • True Crime

In the summer of 1953, in the Gaspé woods of Quebec, three American hunters from Pennsylvania went missing and later turned up dead. Local prospector Wilbert Coffin was quickly targeted as the main suspect, and in three short years, Wilbert would hang for the murder of one of those hunters. The Coffin Affair is a six-episode podcast that explores the arrest, conviction and execution of Wilbert Coffin. More than sixty-five years later, there are still lingering questions as to whether the criminal justice system got it right. www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

Episodes

  1. 02/10/2023 ·  Bonus

    BONUS: The Making of The Coffin Affair

    The Making of The Coffin Affair involves a discussion between Kathryn Campbell (host, writer and director) and Hanna Irwin (historian, producer and research assistant) about the case and podcast. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    46 min

  2. 02/10/2023 ·  Bonus

    BONUS: Coffin's Statement

    Coffin’s statement from Bordeaux Jail, Montreal, on October 9th, 1955.  This episode involves the reading, by Barry Marion, Gaspesian, of chapter 8 of “I Accuse the Assassins of Coffin”, by Jacques Hebert.  This is the full text of Coffin’s statement made while in jail on October 9th, 1955, which addresses each of the theories advanced by the Crown at trial, interspersed with commentary from Kathryn Campbell.   For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    41 min

  3. 02/10/2023

    Episode 6: Aftermath

    This final episode covers what happened following Coffin’s execution in 1956. Media attention sparked interest in re-opening his case and the Quebec government held a Commission of Inquiry in 1964 to investigate the actions of police and others involved in the procedures that led to Coffin’s hanging. Despite weeks of hearing evidence from numerous individuals, Judge Brossard failed to find that any misconduct had occurred during the investigation. In this episode, other possible suspects in the murder are outlined, including Gabriel Thompson, Jean-Phillippe Cabot, and the two unidentified Americans in the jeep. Extra-judicial efforts to establish Coffin’s innocence are also explored in this episode, as well as an examination of later political involvement in Coffin’s case. Moreover, the role of Coffin’s case in the abolition of the death penalty is explored, as well as current efforts by Innocence Canada (formerly AIDWYC) and the Criminal Conviction Review Group of the Department of Justice to overturn his conviction.   For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    45 min

  4. 02/10/2023

    Episode 5: Death Penalty

    This episode covers Coffin’s many appeals and attempts to overturn his conviction and sentence. Likely feeling quite desperate at these failed attempts, following the rejection of his appeal to the Supreme Court, Coffin managed to fashion a gun out of wax and used it to escape the Quebec jail. Coffin fled to his lawyer’s residence who convinced him to return to jail and to have faith in the judicial system. A great deal of evidence emerged, following Coffin’s conviction, that supported his claims of innocence, including a number of people who came forward having seen the yellow jeep with the two Americans in the Gaspé region during the time of the murder. Despite a reference heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, Coffin was hanged on February 10th, 1956, at Bordeaux Jail in Montreal, Quebec. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    31 min

  5. 02/10/2023

    Episode 4: Trial

    In this episode, we explore Coffin’s trial for the murder of Richard Lindsay. What becomes clear is that it was essentially a sham; while Coffin was a unilingual Anglophone, the bulk of the trial was held in French, and despite his pleas to take the stand in his own defense, his lawyer Raymond Mahr (whose appoint was likely linked to Duplessis), would not allow him to testify.  The Crown’s case was circumstantial at best and when it came time for the defense to plead, Mahr stood in court and stated: “the defense rests”.  Not only did Coffin’s lawyer present no defense whatsoever, but many liberties taken by the Crown Prosecutors in this case around the use of evidence and inflammatory statements, were effectively ignored by the judge.  It is therefore not surprising that following thirty-four minutes of jury deliberation, Coffin was found guilty. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    39 min

  6. 02/10/2023

    Episode 3: Politics and Place

    In order to understand how this miscarriage of justice could have occurred, it is important to situate the Coffin Affair within the context of the politics of Quebec in the 1950s.  This period, termed “La Grande Noirceur” (the great darkness) reflects the impact in the province of the politics of Maurice Duplessis’ conservative Union Nationale party, rife with patronage, corruption and vote-fixing.  This episode explores the possible role of Duplessis’ government in encouraging and facilitating a quick arrest of anyone for the murder of the hunters.  Many of those interviewed for this podcast held the belief that Quebec politicians feared that tourism during that period would have been greatly affected if the triple homicide of the Americans hunters that summer was not solved quickly. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    24 min

  7. 02/10/2023

    Episode 2: Police Investigation and Arrest

    This episode explores the police investigation and how Wilbert Coffin became a suspect so quickly for the murder of the three hunters.  While local police officer Sergeant Doyon was initially assigned to investigate the case, he was promptly removed by individuals higher up in the Quebec Provincial Police (now Sûreté du Québec) and replaced with outside officers, who had little knowledge of the local people or culture.  Tunnel vision was apparent on the part of the police, as evidence appeared to be sought that confirmed their theory that Coffin was the perpetrator, and any exculpatory evidence ignored.  Also discussed in the episode are the machinations that surrounded the assignment of Coffin’s problematic legal representation and the results of the Coroner’s inquest and preliminary inquiry, whereby Coffin was ultimately charged with the murder of one of the hunters, Richard Lindsey. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    38 min

  8. 02/10/2023

    Episode 1: Murder in the Gaspé

    In this first episode, we explore the remote region of the Gaspé peninsula and the main characters involved in the case, including Wilbert Coffin (convicted perpetrator) and Eugene Lindsey, Richard Lindsey and Frederick Claar (victims).  A chronology of events to the extent that they are known are presented, from Coffin’s involvement in helping the hunters with their disabled truck, his help in the search for the missing hunters, to the moment he became a suspect in the case. For  more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    31 min

  9. Season 1 Trailer

    TRAILER: The Coffin Affair - A Miscarriage of Justice Revisited

    In the summer of 1953, in the Gaspé woods of Quebec, three American hunters from Pennsylvania went missing, and later turned up dead.  Wilbert Coffin was a local prospector and jack-of-all trades who was quickly targeted for their murder, as he was the last known person to have seen the hunters alive. In three short years, Wilbert Coffin would hang for the murder of one of those hunters. More than sixty-five years later, there are still lingering questions as to whether the criminal justice system got it right. The Coffin Affair is a six-episode podcast that explores the arrest, conviction and execution of Wilbert Coffin, for the murder of Richard Lindsey. Relying on archival materials, historical research, case law, articles and books as well as interviews with several Gaspesians and interested others, these six episodes investigate every stage of the case. What becomes evident is that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred all those years ago. Host and researcher Kathryn M. Campbell is a lawyer and professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa. Professor Campbell is also the faculty director of Innocence Ottawa, a body that assists prisoners with claims of wrongful conviction seeking review thought the Criminal Conviction Review Group of the Department of Justice. Her background and research brought her to the study of Wilbert Coffin’s case, where she is convinced grave errors were made and an innocent man was put to death for a murder he did not commit. For more information on the Coffin case and the sources used for this podcast, please go to www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

    1 min

Trailer

About

In the summer of 1953, in the Gaspé woods of Quebec, three American hunters from Pennsylvania went missing and later turned up dead. Local prospector Wilbert Coffin was quickly targeted as the main suspect, and in three short years, Wilbert would hang for the murder of one of those hunters. The Coffin Affair is a six-episode podcast that explores the arrest, conviction and execution of Wilbert Coffin. More than sixty-five years later, there are still lingering questions as to whether the criminal justice system got it right. www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com

Information