Canadian court to consider when minors can be sentenced as adults
CTV
Canada's highest court is set to hear arguments on Tuesday on when a young person can be considered an adult for sentencing purposes.
Canada's highest court is set to hear arguments on Tuesday on when a young person can be considered an adult for sentencing purposes.
The result may reshape how Canada sentences youth and could, a lawyer told Reuters, set an example for other western countries to follow.
At issue are the cases of I.M. and S.B., two young men who cannot be identified under Canadian law because the crimes they were convicted of took place when they were minors.
I.M. was convicted of first-degree murder following a 2011 stabbing, when he was 17.
S.B. was convicted of first-degree murder following a 2010 shooting, when he was 16.
Both were sentenced as adults, to life sentences with no parole eligibility for 10 years.
They are appealing their sentencings to Canada's Supreme Court, arguing prosecutors did not meet their obligation in rebutting the presumption of the accuseds' "diminished moral blameworthiness."
