SYDNEY, N.S. - A sentencing hearing is expected to begin today in Cape Breton for a young Canadian reservist convicted in the 2007 shooting death of a friend and fellow soldier.
Cpl. Matthew Wilcox of Glace Bay, N.S., was found guilty in July of criminal negligence causing death in the shooting of Cpl. Kevin Megeney.
Wilcox, 24, was also convicted of neglect of duty for firing his Browning 9-mm at Megeney's chest in their tent at Kandahar Airfield on March 6, 2007.
Megeney, a 25-year-old reservist from Stellarton, N.S., died in a trauma unit 30 minutes after he was shot.
During the military trial in Sydney, N.S., the prosecution argued the two men were playing "quick draw," while Wilcox testified he shot in self-defence, believing that somebody was pointing a gun at his back.
The maximum sentence for criminal negligence causing death is life in prison, but the prosecution and defence have said they are in talks for a lesser sentence.
