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Appeals dismissed; trial judge's Vetrovec warning adequately conveyed the necessary caution to the jury.
The appellants were convicted of first degree murder.
The Crown's case relied heavily on the testimony of two unsavoury witnesses.
The trial judge gave a Vetrovec warning, instructing the jury to look for confirmation of their testimony.
The appellants appealed, arguing the warning failed to instruct the jury that confirmatory evidence must be independent and material.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeals, holding that while the warning was not a model to follow, the charge as a whole adequately conveyed the need for special scrutiny and the danger of convicting on unconfirmed evidence.
The Court also applied the curative proviso to an error in the trial judge's instructions on drawing inferences from proven facts.
