Government has hired a retired chief justice from Prince Edward Island to conduct an independent review relating to the death of Samantha Mercer.

The three-year-old from Truro, died in March 2005.

Gerard Mitchell, former judge and chief justice and now Prince Edward Island’s police commissioner, will conduct the review. Mr. Mitchell will spend the next several months reviewing all relevant materials related to the case.

From 1970 to 1975 Mr. Mitchell practised law in Charlottetown. In 1975 he was named a provincial court judge in Prince Edward Island and in 1981 was appointed to the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, where he served until being named to the court of appeal in 1987. From 2000 to 2008 he was chief justice of Prince Edward Island. Since 2009 he has served as the police commissioner in Prince Edward Island.

Source: Release