Wilcox wins appeal in Afghan shooting
New court martial ordered for reservist
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By The Canadian Press
Wed, Oct 20 - 4:53 AM
SYDNEY — A Nova Scotia reservist convicted of fatally shooting a fellow soldier in Afghanistan in 2007 has won his appeal of convictions for criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of a military duty.
In its order issued Monday, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada set aside Cpl. Matthew Wilcox’s guilty verdict and ordered a new general court martial on the two charges.
Wilcox, who’s from Glace Bay, was found not guilty of the most serious charge of manslaughter.
The ruling also states the new trial will be presided over by a judge other than military judge Maj. Peter Lamont, who sentenced Wilcox to four years in prison at the court martial last year.
Wilcox’s lawyers filed an appeal, arguing the makeup of the military jury was unfair and that its members should have been permitted to view the scene of the shooting at Kandahar Airfield.
Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, of Stellarton, died on an operating table in Kandahar after Wilcox fired a bullet through his chest March 6, 2007.
Based on several soldiers’ testimony over the course of the trial, Lamont said he was satisfied Wilcox and Megeney "were engaged in a consensual game of quick draw" inside the tent they shared.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge said Wilcox violated the trust of his colleagues with his pattern of "negligent behaviour" in Afghanistan by failing to unload his weapon at the main gate to Kandahar Airfield.
Lawyer David Bright, who represented Wilcox on appeal, said Lamont erred in not placing an alternate member on the military panel hearing the case.
There were supposed to be five panel members — the equivalent to jurors in the civilian court system — to decide Wilcox’s fate. One member of the panel was excused due to a conflict with work commitments and he wasn’t replaced.
"As a consequence it may have affected the fairness of the trial and thus a new trial was warranted," Bright said in an email to the Cape Breton Post.
Wilcox, now 25, was released from the Springhill penitentiary on Dec. 7, 2009, pending appeal. He has been living with his parents in Glace Bay under court-imposed conditions.
By that point Wilcox had already spent 60 days in the military prison in Edmonton and more than a week at the Springhill prison.
Bright said his client is "pleased with the result" but uncertainty remains with a new trial likely to happen.
National Defence spokesman Andrew McKelvey said in an email late Tuesday that a response from the department on the case would likely come today.
Karen Megeney, the slain soldier’s mother, spoke Tuesday in her first media interview since the Wilcox court martial began.
Canadian Forces personnel prevented the media from asking the Megeney family questions during and immediately after the trial and sentencing phase had ended.
Megeney, contacted at her home in Stellarton, told the Post she was unaware Wilcox had won his appeal.
The news of possibly having to relive the evidence in a new trial had made her anxiety rise "a little high," she said.
She said her family was well prepared for the possibility of a successful appeal.
"If somebody does something wrong, then you have to accept your punishment. That’s just the way it is," Megeney said.
