The accused, Jovane Watson, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
The key issue was whether the Crown could disprove the defence of duress beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court analyzed the six elements of duress, including implicit threat, reasonable belief, absence of safe escape, temporal connection, proportionality, and lack of conspiracy.
The court found that the Crown failed to disprove any of the elements, particularly that the accused acted under a reasonable fear of death or bodily harm from the principal offender, who had just committed a murder.
Consequently, the accused was found not guilty.
