Susan Clairmont: Jeremy Hall found guilty of second-degree murder in death of Billy Mason

Jeremy Hall has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2006 shooting and burning of Billy Mason.

The Crown's theory was that Hall believed Mason set him up to rip off a drug dealer associated with the Hells Angels, causing Hall's home to be shot up in retaliation.

In 2013, a jury convicted Hall of first-degree murder. That verdict was overturned on appeal and this current trial was ordered.

On Tuesday, Justice Andrew Goodman found Hall not guilty of first-degree murder, but guilty of second degree. Goodman said he was not convinced the murder was planned and deliberate or that Mason was the victim of abduction and forcible confinement - the two ways he could be found guilty of first-degree murder.

More to come.

Susan Clairmont is a Hamilton-based crime, court and social justice columnist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: sclairmont@thespec.com