Record $13M Handed Out in Wrongful Imprisonment Suit

Rejean Hinse has spent nearly 50 years seeking compensation for five years in prison he'll never get back.

A Quebec man wrongfully convicted of armed robbery has received a record $13.1 million for the five years he spent in prison, the highest amount ever awarded in Canada. Rejean Hinse, now 73, was convicted of robbing a convenience store in 1964 and served five years in federal prison before being paroled. Hinse sought to clear his name, taking his case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled in his favour in 1997, setting the stage for Hinse to sue both the Quebec and federal governments. A Montreal judge agreed with Hinse on Friday, and the governments were ordered to pay the largest sum ever meted out for a wrongful imprisonment, surpassing the $10 million given to David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in prison before being cleared of a murder conviction.

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