Evidence of a declarant's stated intention is admissible as evidence of state of mind under R v Walton and Bull v The Queen and must not be characterised to the jury as hearsay inadmissible as to truth of contents. Where such evidence is relevant to the central fact in issue, the trial judge must direct the jury on the use they can make of it. Failure to do so, particularly where the misdirection effectively renders the evidence unusable, constitutes a substantial miscarriage of justice that cannot be cured by the proviso where the Crown case is circumstantial and the competing evidence is finely balanced.
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