Crown appeals not-guilty verdict in Dale King trial
Dan Taekema | CBC News | Posted: February 6, 2020 5:55 PM | Last Updated: June 9, 2021
Notice of appeal says judge failed to properly instruct jury around self defence
The Crown is appealing the not-guilty verdict of a man who admitted he shot and killed Yosif Al-Hasnawi, but was acquitted by a jury of second degree murder.
Dale King was found not-guilty following a four-week trial in Hamilton in November.
During the trial, King told the court he fired the shot that killed the 19-year-old Brock student, but said he pulled the trigger in self defence.
The appeal argues the judge failed to properly instruct the jury around self-defence and gave it an overly broad interpretation of what could be seen as reasonable self defence.
Al-Hasnwai was shot in the abdomen on Dec. 2, 2017. He was standing outside a Main Street East mosque and the court heard he shouted at King and his friend James Matheson for bothering an older man before chasing after them.
The jury had the option of finding King guilty or not guilty of second-degree murder, or guilty of manslaughter. King broke down in tears when the verdict was read.
Now, a notice filed by the Crown on Dec. 27 raises nine grounds for appeal.
Among them is the assertion that the trial judge didn't allow the Crown to cross-examine King on his past criminal history, even after his testimony put his own "character at issue."
The notice also argues the judge provided "confusing, incomplete and unbalanced" instructions about the way King acted after the shooting.
Here's a look at the full list of grounds for appeal.
- In finding that the repeal of former section 634, eliminating peremptory challenges, violates sections 11(d), 11(f) and 7 of the Charter.
- By reformulating the Corbett test to include consideration of Gladue sentencing principles, and by giving effect to those principles in allowing the Corbett application.
- By failing to properly and fully reconsider the Corbett ruling after the accused testified and put his character in issue.
- By failing to permit the Crown to tender evidence of and/or cross-examine the accused on other discreditable conduct by him after he testified and put his character at issue.
- By failing to correctly instruct the jury on the use that they could properly make of those entries on the accused's criminal record and other discreditable conduct that they had been permitted to hear about.
- By providing a confusing, incomplete and unbalanced instruction on post-offence conduct.
- In his instructions to the jury on self-defence by overemphasizing and expanding the scope of permissible considerations on the subjective components of the reasonableness of section 34.
- By failing to fully and properly answer the jury's question seeking assistance on the nature of and relationship between the objective and subjective components in section 34.
- And, such further and other grounds as become apparent on a review of the transcript in this matter permitted by this Honourable Court.
The Crown is asking that the appeal be allowed, the repeal of section 634 be declared constitutional and that a new trial be ordered.