Steven Truscott was a Canadian man. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was sentenced for death in 1959 for the murder of Lynne Harper. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he continued to maintain his innocence until 2007, when his conviction was declared a miscarriage of justice and he was formally acquitted of the crime.
Truscott was scheduled to be hanged. On December 8, 1959; however, a temporary reprieve on November 20, 1959 postponed his execution to February 16, 1960 to allow for an appeal.On January 22, 1960, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. On November 29, 2001, Truscott filed a section 690 Criminal code application for a review of his 1959 murder conviction.
Hearings in a review of the Truscott case were heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal. On August 28, 2007, after review of nearly 250 fresh pieces of evidence, the court declared that Truscott's conviction had been a miscarriage of justice.As he was not declared factually innocent, a new trial could have been ordered, but this was a practical impossibility given the passage of time. Accordingly, the court acquitted Truscott of the murder. After the commutation of his sentence he was transferred to the Kingston Penitentiary for assessment and he was incarcerated at the Ontario Training School for Boys in Guelph from February 1960 to January 1963.
On January 14, 1963, he was transferred to Collins Bay Penitentiary.
