Shock at South Africa Lion Murder Aquittal

A South African man convicted of murdering a man whose remains were found in a lion enclosure, has had his life sentence overturned on appeal. White contractor, Mark Scott-Crossley and an employee were alleged to have beaten up black former worker Nelson Chisale and thrown him to lions. He was convicted of murder and given a life sentence in 2005. Now an appeal court in Bloemfontein has overturned the murder verdict and reduced his sentence to five years. The appeal court ruled that the prosecution in the 2005 trial had failed to prove that Mr. Chisale was still alive when he was thrown into the lion enclosure.

Aquittals in Canada Blood Trial

A Canadian judge has acquitted four doctors and a US drug company of criminal negligence in a long running tainted blood scandal. At least 20,000 people were infected with hepatitis C or HIV in the l980's and l990's before Canada used up-to-date blood screening practices. At least 3,000 people are known to have died as a result of receiving tainted blood products. The case is the first to stem from Canada's worst public health disaster. A second trial will deal with the bulk of the deaths and the thousands infected with Hepatitis C