A Red Earth Cree Nation man convicted of First-degree murder will be getting a new trial.
In 2016, Davis Demery Lester Whitehead was arrested and charged with the murder of Ramsey Whitehead.
Davis Whitehead would later be convicted by a jury of his peers with first-degree murder.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeals decision to provide Whitehead with a new trial was made public on Thursday afternoon.
The appeals court believes the original trial judge committed an error when they allowed evidence of a previous assault to be heard in court.
The court decision believes this evidence was used to argue Whitehead had planned and deliberated the murder – evidence required for a first-degree murder conviction.
The appeals court judge also believes the decision to include the evidence of the assault had a prejudicial effect.
The following is a portion of the decision from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals.
“With respect, notwithstanding the deference owed to a trial judge’s admission of similar
fact evidence, two errors justify this Court’s intervention. First, the trial judge committed an error
in law by finding that the evidence of the prior assault was evidence that could be considered to
determine whether the appellant had planned and deliberated upon the murder of the deceased.
Second, the trial judge’s conclusion that the probative value of the evidence outweighed its
prejudicial effect to the appellant is unreasonable. I would set aside the conviction and order a new trial,” read part of the decision.
The entire decision from the Court of Appeals can be found here – Davis Whitehead Appeals Court Decision.
No word yet on when a new trial will take place.