R (Respondent) v Alan Wayne Garth (Appellant) No. SCCRM 93/488 Judgment No. 4623 Number of Pages 29 Criminal Law and Procedure

The appeal in this case was brought by the appellant, Alan Wayne Garth, against his conviction of manslaughter by a jury. The case involved a joint charge with two others of murder, stemming from an incident where the appellant and his co-accused assaulted a man named Sawyer, resulting in his death. The key issues before the court were the admissibility of the appellant's admissions to the police, the sufficiency of the direction on intoxication, and whether the verdict was safe and satisfactory. The court found that the trial judge erred in admitting the appellant's video-recorded interview with the police, given the high level of intoxication and the questionable reliability of the statements made. Additionally, the court found that the trial judge should have directed the jury on the relevance of intoxication in determining the appellant's guilt of manslaughter. The appeal was allowed, and the conviction was quashed. The court did not order a retrial due to the lack of independent evidence that the appellant caused the fatal injury.