Posted: Mar 05, 2021 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: March 5 John Borden's assault conviction was overturned in 2017.(Pat Callaghan/CBC) It started as a trip to a birthday party. It almost ended with a conviction for aggravated assault and a five-year prison term, until John Arthur Borden was able to get that conviction overturned. The whole experience has left him bitter and distrustful of the Nova Scotia justice system. "I've been mad a lot because I know exactly what happened with me in my life and what I've been through," Borden said. He said the ordeal cost him his job, his life savings and what he described as the "perfect" life.