Quote:
Originally Posted by gunluvr
The fact of the matter is if the jury saw evidence that would lead them to believe that Stanley did not maliciously intend to shoot Boushie or even brandished his firearm with undue negligence, WITH REASONABLE DOUBT, then they could not deliver a verdict of "guilty of manslaughter". The obvious evidence that the Tokerev malfunctioned at that critical moment, is enough to raise reasonable doubt, even without consideration of Stanley's explanation of what transpired.
Proponents of Colten Boushie don't want to consider what happened in the jury deliberations because they were all "non-impartial white men". It's unfortunate that there wasn't a FN representative on the jury. The verdict would have been the same.
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You have just hit the nail on the head.
Mr. Stanley was NOT charged with criminal negligence through reckless endangerment. He was charged with 2nd degree murder which, as per the judge's instructions, the jury could have reduced to a charge of manslaughter. Nothing in his charges stated anything about negligence or the brandishing and discharging of a restricted weapon, which I find extremely puzzling. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, criminal negligence carries a maximum life sentence if a life is taken.
As you stated, intent would be almost impossible to prove in this case.
As all of you have likely noticed by this point, I do not believe the misshapen spent cartridge found on the dashboard of the SUV was the result of a "hangfire" or an "out of battery" discharge. If you will be patient with me, I will explain a scenario in which the 3rd round was chambered just the same as the first two, and disharged the same way as the first two (ie. by pulling the trigger).
Unfortunately, though, what I am going to say is going to shed a very bad light on Mr. Stanley's testimony. That being said, it is still quite possible the weapon was discharged accidentally when Colten Boushie was killed, and that Mr. Stanley felt great remorse at taking a life. I refuse to condemn him for what he did, as I do not know if I would have acted much differently under similar circumstances.