91原创

A petition calling for an appeal of the not guilty verdict in the death of a seven-year-old 91原创 child .

鈥淗elp us get justice for Aaliyah by demanding an appeal of her mother鈥檚 verdict,鈥� the petition, started by Nadia Causley, says.

KerryAnn Lewis was acquitted after a lengthy first degree murder trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.

Her daughter, Aaliyah Rosa, was found dead on the floor of Lewis鈥檚 bathroom on July 22, 2018.

鈥淥nly Ms. Lewis knows what happened to Aaliyah on the day in question,鈥� Justice Martha Devlin said in her verdict on Sept. 3.

鈥淭his was a tragic incident resulting in the death of Aaliyah,鈥� she said.

Devlin did find that Lewis had given her daughter a combination of depressant drugs that were found in her system, which were consistent with over the counter Sleep-Eze and prescription Ativan.

But she ruled that the Crown prosecutors had not made their case that Lewis was responsible for Aaliyah鈥檚 death beyond a reasonable doubt.

A great deal of expert witness testimony at the trial focused on a pre-existing medical condition that Aaliyah had apparently had, which had been undetected while she was alive.

READ MORE: 91原创 mother found not guilty in death of seven-year-old daughter

After the verdict was read, someone in the courtroom yelled angrily that the verdict was 鈥渂ulls**t.鈥�

According to Dan McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the BC Prosecution service, no decision had been made as of Sept. 9 on an appeal, but he expected a decision would be made in the next few weeks, as there is a limited window to file an appeal.

The call for an appeal on Change.org notes that one aspect of the appeal is public interest, but that does not mean simply that the public is calling for an appeal.

An appeal of a not guilty verdict has to rest on a believe that the judge made an 鈥渆rror of law,鈥� and that a 鈥渞easonable argument鈥� exists that the verdict would have been different if the judge had not made the error.

Determining public interest is based on a number of factors, including public safety concerns based on the circumstances of the accused, whether the issues raised by the case are of broad, general importance, and whether it is likely that an appeal would be successful.