A number of fascinating questions emerge from the recent appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada of a Nova Scotia school teacher who hired a hitman to kill her abusive spouse. The teacher, Nicole Ryan, had endured over fifteen years of a ''reign of terror'' that included repeated episodes of physical and emotional abuse from her husband. According to Ryan's lawyer on the appeal, his client had contacted the police nine times without success to receive protection for her and her child.

The Supreme Court of Canada had previously accepted that a battered woman killing her abusive spouse could claim that her actions were justified as a form of self defence. The case of Nicole Ryan considered whether the defence also covered the hiring of a hit man to kill an abusive spouse.

Nicole Ryan was charged with counselling to commit murder. The hitman she approached at a Tim Horton's outside of Halifax was an undercover RCMP officer.

Question #1: Does it matter that the hit is never carried out?

  • In the event that the Supreme Court of Canada decides that Ryan is entitled to rely on the battered woman's defence, it will equally apply if the hit takes place and the abusive spouse is killed.

Question #2: Could the hit man also claim self defence at his trial?

  • The defence for the hitman is a considerable legal stretch but it is likely to be advanced by his counsel. Consider a trial where the abused spouse and the hit man are jointly tried for murder. If the jury determines that the killing is justified for the spouse who instigates the killing, it will be argued that it is inconsistent for the jury to find that the hitman is guilty of murder.

Question #3: Does it matter what instructions the hit man receives?

  • The instructions may be critical. If the hit man is unaware of the history of spousal abuse, he can hardly claim at trial that his actions are carried out for the purpose of self defence. It presents an exclusively commercial transaction for the hit.

Question #4: What is the result if the hit man mistakenly kills the wrong person?

  • The hit man and the abusive spouse are liable to be found guilty of murder.

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