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Second degree murder convictions upheld; unreasonable verdict is itself an error of law.
Two appellants were convicted by jury of second degree murder for their participation in a group assault in which the victim was beaten and stabbed to death.
The Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the convictions, finding no reviewable error in the jury charge and that the verdicts were not unreasonable.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeals substantially for the reasons of the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, agreeing that the jury charge adequately addressed the various paths to liability — including principal and co-principal liability — and that the verdicts were not unreasonable.
The Court added, however, that a finding of unreasonable verdict is itself an error of law justifying appellate intervention, and that an extricable error need not first be identified as a precondition.
