The appellants and two accomplices were charged with first degree murder.
One accomplice pleaded guilty to conspiracy and testified for the Crown.
The appellants were convicted of second degree murder.
On appeal, they argued the trial judge erred in his instructions on section 21(2) of the Criminal Code, failed to warn the jury about the accomplice's guilty plea, and improperly excluded a second police statement.
The Supreme Court of Canada found that the trial judge did err on all three grounds.
However, the Court applied the curative proviso under section 613(1)(b)(iii) of the Criminal Code, concluding that despite the errors, the verdict would necessarily have been the same given the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
The appeals were dismissed.
