The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Peter Khill, a Hamilton-area man who was initially acquitted in the 2016 shooting death of Jon Styres, must face a new trial.
The trial judge failed to give instructions to jurors on the way in which Khill’s role in the shooting should be used to assess the reasonableness of his conduct, Justice Sheilah L. Martin, in writing for the majority, said in the decision released Thursday.
“Mr. Khill’s role in the incident should have been expressly drawn to the attention of the jury,” Martin wrote. “The absence of any explanation concerning the legal significance of Mr. Khill’s role in the incident was a serious error.”
