"THE DEFENDANT, LEIGHTON HAY, HAS URGED THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA TO ORDER FORENSIC TESTING OF THE HAIRS, SEIZED FROM HIS HOME WITHIN HOURS OF THE SHOOTING. IF IT TURNS OUT THAT THE HAIRS WERE CLIPPED FROM MR. HAY’S SCALP, IT WILL CORROBORATE A CROWN THEORY THAT MR. HAY SHAVED HIS HEAD IN A PANIC TO ALTER HIS APPEARANCE. HE WOULD REMAIN IN PRISON FOR LIFE. BUT IF THE HAIRS TURN OUT TO BE BEARD STUBBLE, KEY EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY AT MR. HAY’S TRIAL FROM A WOMAN WHO DESCRIBED THE SHOOTER AS HAVING TWO-INCH DREADLOCKS WOULD BE THROWN INTO DOUBT. “I HAVE ALL ALONG BELIEVED AND STILL BELIEVE THAT LEIGHTON HAY IS TOTALLY INNOCENT OF THESE CHARGES,” JEFFREY HOUSE, MR. HAY’S TRIAL LAWYER, SAID IN AN INTERVIEW. “TO ME, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WHEN SCIENCE DEVELOPS, WE CAN GET A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT THE CROWN RELIED ON.”"
JUSTICE REPORTER KIRK MAKIN: THE GLOBE AND MAIL.
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"A Toronto man’s first-degree murder conviction for a 2002 nightclub shooting is hanging by a few, tiny hairs," the Globe and Mail story by Justice Reporter Kirk Makin published yesterday begins, under the heading, "Defence, prosecution split on need for forensic hair testing, "Man convicted of first-degree murder argues tests could prove his innocence."
"The defendant, Leighton Hay, has urged the Supreme Court of Canada to order forensic testing of the hairs, seized from his home within hours of the shooting," the story continues.
"If it turns out that the hairs were clipped from Mr. Hay’s scalp, it will corroborate a Crown theory that Mr. Hay shaved his head in a panic to alter his appearance. He would remain in prison for life.
But if the hairs turn out to be beard stubble, key eyewitness testimony at Mr. Hay’s trial from a woman who described the shooter as having two-inch dreadlocks would be thrown into doubt.
“I have all along believed and still believe that Leighton Hay is totally innocent of these charges,” Jeffrey House, Mr. Hay’s trial lawyer, said in an interview. “To me, it is critical that when science develops, we can get a closer look at what the Crown relied on.”
The victim, Collin Moore, was shot by two gunmen on July 6, 2006. Mr. Moore’s brother was seriously injured.
The first shooter, Gary Eunick, was quickly identified and later convicted of first-degree murder. An eyewitness, Leisa Maillard, described the second shooter as having dreadlocks that were about two inches long. She picked Mr. Hay’s picture from a photo lineup and said that she was 80 per cent sure it was him.
However, Ms. Maillard was unable to identify Mr. Hay several weeks later, when police showed another line-up in which he was depicted with his head shaved.
The Crown argued at trial that Mr. Hay – who was arrested the morning after the shooting – clipped off his hair right after returning home from the nightclub.
In a letter to Mr. Hay’s defence team, CFS director Anthony Tessarolo confirmed that the testing is feasible and can be conducted within three weeks.
But Crown counsel Susan L. Reid has so far refused to send the hairs to Ontario’s Centre of Forensic Sciences for testing. She argued in a brief to the Supreme Court that the testing method CFS intends to use is unreliable and that the result would not affect the jury’s verdict, anyway.
“It cannot determine when the hairs that were seized had been cut,” she said. “Even if testing establishes that the hair clipping that were seized are beard rather than scalp hairs, this can have no impact on the unassailable fact that the applicant’s head was shaved on arrest.”
However, Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted lawyers James Lockyer and Phil Campbell maintain the forensic testing will prove that Mr. Hay shaved his beard stubble well before the shooting and disposed of it in a rolled-up newspaper.
“Whether or not the applicant cut his hair that night was a critical issue at his trial,” they said. “It is difficult to overstate the impact this theory, if believed, would have had on the jury.”
The defence also points to other evidence that leads from Mr. Hay, including the presence of blood in the back seat of Mr. Eunick’s getaway car that did not emanate from Mr. Eunick or the two shooting victims. They claim that the real shooter was injured at the club and bled in the car.
Mr. House said this week that while there was definitely a second gunman, it was most likely a gang associate of Mr. Eunick."
The story can be found at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/defence-prosecution-split-on-need-for-forensic-hair-testing/article1573633/
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
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