Where the highpoint of the Crown case on a count rests on an untested hearsay statement read to the jury, and the body of other evidence points against the Crown's case on that count, the verdict may be unreasonable. The usual deference to jury fact-finding is diminished where the jury did not see or hear the key witness. A sentence of 8 years for manslaughter based on excessive self-defence where the appellant was cornered and being overcome by an aggressive deceased was manifestly excessive; 6 years 6 months was substituted.
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