The crown messed up badly by going for a 2nd degree murder charge. They would have had a much better shot if they tried for manslaughter or criminal negligence charges.
A couple things -
1) Colton Boushie's group had been drinking for days.
2) They had a gun in their car, which was loaded and usable. Although it had a broken stock, so it has been referred to as a partial firearm by some news outlets.
3) They tried to start up an ATV on the property.
4) The group lied throughout the process and was very unreliable:
summary
5) The RCMP didn't help themselves when describing the hangfire. They provided testimony about how almost all hangfires go off within 1 second of pulling the trigger. However, the Canadian Firearms Safety course states that a firearm should be pointed downrange for a full minute in the event of a hangfire.
It is tragic that Bouchie lost his life that day. I don't think any reasonable jury was ever going to convict Stanley and I think it is rather questionable that this even went to trial. Stanley is already paying a significant price with his reputation and the money he spent defending himself. I'm not sure if I fully believe Stanley's story, but I do know that he wasn't going out that day looking for someone to kill. He was trying to protect his family and his property from a gang of criminals. Regardless, I don't think the evidence warranted a conviction and the jury made the right decision.
This trial underscores the need to self defense law reform in Canada. There shouldn't be a dog and pony show every time someone defends themselves on their own property in Canada.
It also highlights the inherent bias in the justice system when these people that put Stanley in this position were not charged with crimes for their role in this shooting. Criminal Trespass, Impaired driving and possibly criminal negligence causing death.