The Canadian case I wrote up in MSW in November 2021 (HERE) is now back in trial again. As expected, the case drew the interest of Canadian legal writers. See, for example, HERE and HERE.
Khill was acquitted in the first trial; the high court ordered a retrial. He is testifying as I write. So far, it isn’t pretty, see HERE and HERE. Those with law enforcement or military training — pay particular attention. Training in the CAN (mindset, recognizing hostile intent/ability, use of firearms) isn’t universal, it’s mission specific.
I expect the judge will allow the Crown wide latitude of incident framing and related argument. And, as directed by the high court, will firmly instruct the jury on how to consider the defendant’s role in causing the unintended result, including his opportunities to do things other than to unnecessarily go armed outside in the dark to confront a thief. I think the result the second time around is likely to be a guilty verdict.
What happens in Canada isn’t staying in Canada. I have observed several cases in the last year (in Florida and other states) where a “self-defense” incident has been too broadly framed (as to time and/or defendant’s behavior) and as a result, pretrial immunity was wrongly denied or a defendant suffered an undeserved conviction. To me those cases are a harbinger of a wrong turn in self-defense law in the states.
For lawyers: I have written about incident framing and Florida law. See HERE, p.7.