Nelson Hart's testimony shouldn't have been used as evidence: lawyer

Nelson Hart awaits the verdict in his murder trial at court in Gander, N.L., Wednesday, March 28, 2007. (Tara Brautigam / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Newfoundland and Labrador's highest court says a videotaped confession of a man convicted in 2007 of drowning his daughters should not have been entered as evidence at his trial.

The province's Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for Nelson Hart, who was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder.

His three-year-old daughters drowned at Gander Lake in central Newfoundland on August 4th, 2002.

In a decision released yesterday, a three-judge panel ruled that a videotaped confession Hart gave during an undercover RCMP operation was obtained by "improper coercion."

It also ruled that Hart should have been allowed to testify with the public excluded from the courtroom.

The ruling said Hart has difficulty thinking clearly while under stress in front of a large number of people.