A HOBART man will spend a maximum of eight years behind bars for shooting another man dead in January last year. Brodie Leigh Price, 20, was on Monday found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for killing Jason William McPherson, 41, outside his Kingston home. Price won’t be eligible for parole until he has served four years. The dead man’s father, David McPherson, said both the verdict and sentence were ‘‘a load of crap’’. ‘‘You can get that for robbing a bottle shop,’’ he said outside court. ‘‘You lose your son ... he was worth more than four years to me.’’ Mr McPherson said his whole family was suffering in the wake of the killing, with each of his sons affected in different ways. During the trial, Price’s lawyers argued the shooting was the tragic result of a bungled drug robbery. Prosecutors instead claimed the slaying was motivated by a long-running family feud. Justice Stephen Estcourt said Price’s exact motivation was unclear, but it was beyond doubt that he intentionally pulled the trigger of the .22 calibre rifle which fired the fatal shot. Justice Estcourt said it was difficult to understand how the jury passed over a guilty murder verdict and instead found Price guilty of manslaughter, but said they were within their rights to do so. The majority verdict was reached after seven hours of deliberations. Price had pleaded not guilty to murder. Dressed in a light blue suit with his head freshly-shaved, Price let out a huge sigh as the verdict was delivered, before unbuttoning his collar, loosening his tie and asking for a glass of water. Mr McPherson’s brothers hurled abuse at Price after the verdict was handed down, and did not return to court for the sentencing. In sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said Price had an unenviable record of violent priors and had never shown remorse. Defence lawyer Cameron Scott said Price had been exposed to drugs and crime from a young age, but had good prospects of rehabilitation.
A HOBART man will spend a maximum of eight years behind bars for shooting another man dead in January last year.
Brodie Leigh Price, 20, was on Monday found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for killing Jason William McPherson, 41, outside his Kingston home.
Price won’t be eligible for parole until he has served four years.
The dead man’s father, David McPherson, said both the verdict and sentence were ‘‘a load of crap’’.
‘‘You can get that for robbing a bottle shop,’’ he said outside court.
‘‘You lose your son ... he was worth more than four years to me.’’
Mr McPherson said his whole family was suffering in the wake of the killing, with each of his sons affected in different ways.
During the trial, Price’s lawyers argued the shooting was the tragic result of a bungled drug robbery.
Prosecutors instead claimed the slaying was motivated by a long-running family feud.
Justice Stephen Estcourt said Price’s exact motivation was unclear, but it was beyond doubt that he intentionally pulled the trigger of the .22 calibre rifle which fired the fatal shot.
Justice Estcourt said it was difficult to understand how the jury passed over a guilty murder verdict and instead found Price guilty of manslaughter, but said they were within their rights to do so.
The majority verdict was reached after seven hours of deliberations. Price had pleaded not guilty to murder.
Dressed in a light blue suit with his head freshly-shaved, Price let out a huge sigh as the verdict was delivered, before unbuttoning his collar, loosening his tie and asking for a glass of water.
Mr McPherson’s brothers hurled abuse at Price after the verdict was handed down, and did not return to court for the sentencing.
In sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said Price had an unenviable record of violent priors and had never shown remorse.
Defence lawyer Cameron Scott said Price had been exposed to drugs and crime from a young age, but had good prospects of rehabilitation.
