How would you know?
No one knows anything 100%. Absolutely nothing. You can prove ... nothing 100%. period.
Having said that, 25 years of prosecutorial experience goes an awfully long way.
This is “I was holding it for a friend”. If facts come out to show otherwise, I’d gladly change my mind and say I was wrong. I have zero problem with that.
I stand by what he did was a crime based on the facts I see. And an experienced big game hunter claiming he didn’t know is like an experienced driver claiming he didn’t know the speed limit in a residential area because he never saw the speed limit sign.
All the argument about who the lion was, was he “human”, etc is all crap and a smoke screen. Quite frankly, those arguments and all arguments outside the fact mean nothing to me. But I believe he is lying. Again, if I am wrong, I’ll say, “I was wrong”. I have done that before and don’t find it the least embarrassing.