Sherbrooke Quebec - The jury in the Lake Megantic trial of three men charged in connection with 2013 rail disaster had another question Friday morning, as they embarked on their ninth day of deliberations.
 
The jurors asked clarification on determining how the actions and decisions made by the three accused differed from what another employee would have done in the situation.
 
"The Megantic tragedy is unique," the letter, sent at about 10:15, said.
 
"Among the many instructions that you gave us to orient this triple trial, we'd like to have clarification on one of those."
 
Justice Gaetan Dumas told lawyers he would remind the jurors "that we are speaking of marked and important departures."
 
Dumas said the jurors need to remember to look at the evidence before them and that the burden of proof rests on the Crown "and that it belongs to the Crown to show there was a marked departure.
 
"If there is a doubt, they have my instruction on what to do in that case."
 
The jurors are deciding the fate of Tom Harding, Richard Labrie, and Jean Demaitre.
 
One of the Crown's responsibilities in the trial was to prove the actions and decisions made on the night of the tragedy were a marked difference from what a reasonable person would have done.
 
Question is Jury's Third Note to Judge
 
The question is the jury's third time reaching out to the judge and lawyers.
 
In the first, they asked if they could have a dictionary and for clarification on legal terms, including "reasonable doubt."
 
Their second note came Tuesday, their sixth day deliberating, saying they were at an impasse and asking what the procedure is if they were not able to come back with a verdict.
 
Dumas urged them to return to deliberations, stating, "I have the authority to discharge you from giving a verdict where further deliberation is evidently useless in helping you reach a unanimous verdict. However, that right is not to be given lightly or at the first sign of difficulty."
 
Author unknown.