Families affected by the mistakes of a disgraced pathologist want an apology.
But it looks like they won't be satisfied any time soon.
Charlotte Shaw's sister Angela was brutally murdered.
So it was even more upsetting when Dr. Michael Belenky muddled her autopsy.
A second autopsy uncovered the errors, but also claimed they they didn't affect the outcome of the court case because the killer pled guilty.
All Shaw wants is some acknowledgement of the errors from Alberta Justice.
"An apology would be wonderful. It's not going to change what happened, but it would give my sister some acknowledgement that she was a human being and not just a case number," she says.
Another family wants an apology, too.
Belenky's autopsy on their baby son mistakenly called it a homicide and because of that, their older son was placed in foster care. Now they're suing Belenky and the government.
But anyone waiting for an apology from Alberta Justice will have to keep waiting. It says "all criminal cases that were done by Belenky were investigated. That investigation found no evidence that the outcome to any criminal cases were affected."
Chris Levy, a law professor with the University of Calgary says if the accused in Angela Shaw's murder had plead not guilty, Belenky's many mistakes could have totally changed the outcome.
"I would unquestionably have been questioning how much attention the pathologist paid he couldn't describe what the victim was wearing and couldn't distinguish left from right. The entire diagnostic process connected to the autopsy might give rise to reasonable doubt," says Levy.
The department has made some changes to how autopsies are done in the province
As of March 1st, a second autopsy like the one Shaw had to fight for is now standard practice.
There's some question as to how efficiently that process is going to be able to be carried out. Right now there are 15 vacancies for medical examiner positions in Alberta.
