William Mullins-Johnson's wrongful conviction story is a profound illustration of the severe consequences of inconsistent forensic evidence. In 1994, Mullins-Johnson was convicted of the first-degree murder of his four-year-old niece, Valin, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The conviction was heavily based on the testimony of pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, who claimed that Valin had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Mullins-Johnson's conviction was overturned in 2007 after new forensic evidence revealed that Valin's death was natural, and there was no evidence of a crime. This case highlighted serious flaws in Smith's forensic pathology practices, leading to a public inquiry into pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario, which found
