Innocence Canada believes a huge mistake has been corrected following the exoneration of a man once accused of killing his infant stepson.

In 1996 Bernard Doyle was dancing with his stepson, who was a year-and-a-half old, when he tripped over some tools left on the floor. The child struck his head and died in hospital from his injuries.

Doyle was sentenced to four years in jail for manslaughter after two pathologists testified that the child must have been shaken violently and hit in the head.

About a decade ago Innocence Canada took on the case and after expert testimony, Doyle, who now lives in St. John’s, was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Founding director James Lockyer describes the emotional toll the ordeal has had on Doyle.

“He was branded a baby killer, but he was no such thing,” says Lockyer. He notes that much of the testimony at the trial itself was about how much Doyle loved the baby.

Lockyer says Doyle still has immense feelings of guilt about how Tyler died.