An Ontario judge urged a adolescent declared guilty of involuntary homicide in a mortal attack against a homeless toronto man not to forget or minimize that night’s events while he felt it to probation on Friday.
The judge of the Superior Court of Ontario, Philip Campbell, encouraged the girl to be “clear and sincere” about her role in the attack that led to the death of Kenneth reads already keep the mind of 59 years as time passes.
The girl’s remorse was “evident” when he delivered an emotional apology in the court earlier this week, the judge said. At that time, the teenager also said that she could not imagine the pain that Lee’s loved ones endured, “and I’m sure that is true,” he said.
However, the judge said: “You can try to imagine, and you should.”
“When your probation ends, you will have paid your debt to society,” said Campbell. “But Mr. Lee, although dead, will stay with you and urge you to think about him.”
Campbell sentenced the three -year -old girl, the maximum available for involuntary homicide in a youth case, less 20 months of credit for the time he previously spent in custody, a calculation that the judge also contacted the traumatic impact of four strips searches he experienced while in the youth facilities, which represented violations of his constitutional rights.
Until a year of their 16 -month probation will be spent on an intensive support and supervision program.
The girl was 14 when she and seven other teenagers attacked Kenneth Lee in a center of Toronto Parkette in December 2022. The 59 -year -old woman died at the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery.
The eight girls were accused of second degree murder, and Seven ended up declaring themselves guilty of minor charges: five for involuntary homicide, one to assault and another to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily damage.
The second teenager to be sentenced in the death of 2022 of Toronto’s homeless man, Kenneth Lee, will not meet any more time in custody, but will spend about two years under probation. The 15 -year -old girl declared himself guilty of homicide earlier this year. Greg Ross of CBC has more about where the cases of coacked girls are found.
This girl also tried to declare himself guilty of homicide when her trial began earlier this year, but the crown rejected her plea.
Months later, Campbell found her not guilty of second -degree murder, but guilty of the lower charge of involuntary homicide.
Sencing Marks Final Chapter of the Case of Swarm
Except for any appeal, Friday’s judgment marks the final chapter of a long and complex legal saga that prosecutors have described as “extraordinary” in terms of a youth prosecution.
The case was divided last year, with four girls declared guilty in the Court of Justice of Ontario for several months and the remaining four promised to face the trial in the Superior Court of Ontario.
Two trials were scheduled, one earlier and the other in May. In the end, only one trial took place when the other girls also declared themselves guilty.
Several of the girls also presented a constitutional challenge about the searches of strips to which they were subjected while they were in custody. Campbell discovered that searches were unconstitutional, but instead of maintaining charges, such as adolescents and their lawyers, the appropriate remedy would be to reduce the sentences of the declared guilty in the case.
Defense and Corona lawyers agreed that the condemned girl on Friday has made remarkable progress since her arrest and has shown a commitment to improve itself.
“This positive trajectory and the risks of moving from it are significant considerations when approving its sentence,” said Campbell.
Prosecutors initially said they would ask the girl to spend time in custody as part of her sentence, but changed course earlier this week, instead of discussing a 16 -month probation judgment, with the first year under an intensive program of support and supervision.
The defense sought a sentence of 12 months of probation, with a minimum of six months in an intensive support and supervision program.
‘I’m really sorry’
On Wednesday, the girl offered a crying apology when she went to the Court, saying that she accepts full responsibility for her actions and is making an effort to change for better.
“I don’t know anything that I say will change what happened, but I still mean that I really feel and I accept full responsibility and I am making an effort to grow as a person and learn from it and I am disappointed with the actions and decisions I made,” he said.
The night attack that surprised the city was captured in security video, and the footage served as central evidence in the trial.
The prosecutors argued that the girl was the one who fatally wounded Lee, stabbing him with a knife or small scissors in the melee combat. The defense, however, argued that it was impossible to know about the video that stabbed Lee or when, pointing out that he reads himself did not realize that he had been stabbed at that time.
No knife was recovered in the investigation, and the girl’s lawyers said he did not have one at any time that night.
At the time of his arrest, he had two small couples of scissors and some tweezers, according to the court.
Lee died of hemorrhagic shock after he was stabbed in his heart, the forensic pathologist who examined his body told the court. The pathologist declared that it was unlikely that the scissors found the girl would have caused Lee’s heart, although they could have caused a smaller and non -fatal stab wound near her armpit.
Campbell said prosecutors had not demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl was responsible for the fatal injury, or that she had the mental state required by the murder.
