A man accused in a fatal shooting at the Eaton Centre six years ago has been found guilty of two counts of manslaughter.
Christopher Husbands, 29, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault, one count each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and reckless discharge of a firearm in the June 2, 2012 mall shooting.
He admitted he was the shooter but his lawyers argued he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
Defence lawyer Dirk Derstine said Husbands did not have control over his actions after his post-traumatic stress disorder was triggered by a chance encounter with some of the men who had beaten and stabbed him in an ambush attack months earlier.
The Crown, however, argued Husbands sought revenge for the stabbing and carried out the shooting as a form of "street justice."
Prosecutors acknowledged Husbands had PTSD but said he was in control throughout the attack.
This marked the second trial for Husbands. In his first trial in 2014, he was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 30 years. However, the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial after they determined the judge had made a mistake while potential jurors were being questioned about bias.
The jury at the most recent trial was only told that Husbands was tried once before, but they were unaware of why a new trial was ordered.
WATCH: Attorney Dirk Derstine’s client was initially convicted of 2nd-degree murder in the 2012 Eaton Centre shooting. 5 years & another trial later, Christopher Husbands is guilty of manslaughter. Derstine is asked why the outcomes are so different... pic.twitter.com/qpFvw4iEF3
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) February 19, 2019
"There were some differences in evidence," Derstine said, comparing the two. "There were more defence medical professionals. We called three this time as opposed to one."
"The trial was not remarkably different aside from that," he added. "I think it's probably fair to say in all of the circumstances that the psychiatric evidence called by the defence was stronger this time around than it was the last time around."
As a result, the maximum sentence Husbands can receive now is life in prison with no parole for seven years. Derstine says his team will be asking for less than that.
"If [the lawyer] were me under this circumstance, maybe I wouldn't be drinking the whole bottle of champagne, but I would definitely be popping the cork," NEWSTALK1010 legal analyst Ed Prutschi told The Rush Tuesday afternoon.
"I hate to use the term - although I think a lot of people are thinking about it and it might apply here - is a so-called compromise verdict," he said. "Maybe there is this is so-called compromise where some people said 'you know what? I'm not going to vote to convict this guy' and others said 'well I am not going to acquit this guy'.''
"They had to coalesce around middle ground and there seemed ultimately to be unanimity around manslaughter."
Husbands will return to court for his sentencing hearing on Thursday.
- With files from Jackie Rosen/NEWSTALK1010