The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned the second degree murder conviction of a man from the Wingham area.
Ron Ward of Culross Township was convicted in September of 2011 in the death of Scott Hayes of Wingham. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.
At the trial, the jury heard that Ward, then 28, drove his SUV into Hayes behind a downtown Wingham building on February 12, 2010. 22-year-old Hayes was involved in a fistfight with Ward's brother at the time.
Hayes was crushed against the wall of the building. Ward then drove off with his brother and two passengers, but did not call for help.
Three Appeals Court justices ruled the trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury on the defense of "accident," on the use jurors can make of evidence of after-the-fact conduct, and on his description of the "fault element" in murder.
Ward's conviction was reduced to manslaughter and the justices imposed a sentence of time served.
-With files from Kate Stockmann
