My client who is a Native American in Northern Canada is
charged with manslaughter. Yes my client has fired but in his defense he was
trying to protect him and others. The tribe that my client is from, they believe
in an evil spirit call “wendigo” who is supposed to eat humans. Based on his
belief he took that man for this evil creature and in his defense and for his
safety and the safety of other he fired at him. My client not knowing mistook
the man for this creature causing him to react this way. My client shouldn’t be
charged with manslaughter because he didn’t mean to harm an innocent but he had meant to protect him and other from this evil spirit who he believed to eat humans. At that moment those thought arose in his mind and being horrified of the outcome that the evil spirit may have cause he took matters into his own hands. Not knowing that he had mad a mistake.
Kanchan, do you claim justification for the defendant, meaning that he should be acquitted? Your defense is based on the defendant’s cultural view of a Wendigo, but even when considering his perspective, he was not in imminent danger, nor were others in imminent danger. Even though the defendant believed the victim to be a dangerous creature, the so perceived danger was of a general kind, and to prevent it, the defendant could have called others from his tribe or law enforcement for help.
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