AUBURN – Defense attorneys in a Maine manslaughter case say a man who died in a hunting accident had been drinking and was not properly dressed when he was shot and killed.
The Sun Journal reported that lawyers for Christopher Austin of Wales say Gerard Parent would not have been killed if he hadn’t behaved “negligently.”
Authorities said Austin accidentally shot and killed Parent in November 2012 while the two were hunting separately and shooting at the same deer.
Austin faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The defense made its case Tuesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court.
Assistant Attorney General John Alsop responded that blaming the victim for his own death is improper.
Austin has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and is free on bail.
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