George Span's home north Lethbridge

By Lara Fominoff

Conviction Overturned

Supreme Court of Canada overturns second degree murder conviction of Addison Wakefield

May 8, 2019 | 3:01 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) has ruled that the 2015 second degree murder conviction of Addison Nickoles Wakefield is not valid, and instead, has returned a verdict of manslaughter in the case, and ordered the matter to go back to the original trial judge for sentencing.

The case was heard April 25, 2019 after a Nov. 2018 decision by the Alberta Court of Appeal.

According to reasons set out by the SCOC, in order to uphold the conviction, the majority of judges in the Alberta Court of Appeal had to be satisfied that the trial judge, D.K. Miller, found Wakefield indeed was the person who had stabbed 58-year-old George Span to death in Jan. 2013.

However, the SCOC, in its decision wrote, “the trial judge expressly refrained from making that finding.”

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Because the Alberta Court of Appeal judges then concluded that Wakefield was the one who stabbed Span, and that it was “well founded in evidence,” they erred in “making a finding of fact, that the trial judge declined to make.”

Further, the SCOC ruled that the trial judge may not have correctly analyzed the mens rea, (intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes a crime), needed for a second degree murder conviction, adding, “the trial judge failed to consider the crucial question of what the appellant subjectively knew and intended at the time of the stabbing.”

In June 2015, Wakefield, along with co-accused Michael Mitchell, were found guilty of the stabbing death of George Span in his north Lethbridge home and both were given life sentences.

The men had gone to the home to assault or rob Span or to collect on a drug debt, according to testimony heard at their trial. Span was stabbed four times.

After hearing from the Crown and lawyers for the two men, Justice Miller set Mitchell’s eligibility for parole at 15-years and Wakefield’s at 18-years.