SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A professor of criminal justice history who has been following the Dennis Oland second-degree murder trial says he is shocked by the jury's guilty verdict.
Greg Marquis of the University of New Brunswick, who is writing a book about the Oland trial, says the evidence presented at the trial was largely circumstantial.
Marquis pointed out that Judge John Walsh emphasized in his legal instructions to the jurors that they could not convict Oland unless they felt his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Marquis said if he had been on the Oland jury he would have struggled with that concept in the light of evidence available.
Robert Currie, a criminal law professor Dalhousie University in Halifax, predicts Oland will appeal the conviction that was handed down Saturday.
Oland's mother Connie has issued a statement maintaining her son's innocence and said they would be discussing options with the prominent New Brunswick family's legal team.
The Oland family is best known as the founder of Moosehead Breweries.
