Cleared of murder, Phillion asks court for chance to clear his name

OTTAWA - After spending almost 32 years behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit, Romeo Phillion has returned to court a free man.

And he came with an unusual request -- to be charged for the murder once again so he could plead not guilty and finally clear his name.

Phillion, 70, says: "I might not be an angel, but I'm no killer."

The Ontario Court of Appeal last year overturned Phillion's murder conviction for the 1967 stabbing death of Ottawa firefighter Leopold Roy.

It ordered a new trial, but the court made it clear it had not concluded Phillion is innocent.

Phillion's lawyer James Lockyer argues that instead of allowing prosecutors to simply withdraw the murder charge, the court should order his client arraigned so he can plead not guilty and be acquitted.

The court will hear several more days of legal argument before making a ruling.