OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the Crown must prove young offenders deserve adult sentences, saying they should be presumed less morally culpable for their crimes than adults.
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At issue was a provision in the Youth Criminal Justice Act that forced youths convicted of some serious crimes — including murder, manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault — to convince the court they should not be sentenced as adults.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today that this reverse onus provision is a breach of fundamental justice and of the Charter rights of young offenders.
The judgment does not mean adolescents cannot be given adult sentences.
But it is now up to the Crown to prove why a stiffer sentence is warranted.
Four of the nine justices gave a dissenting opinion, writing that it is “entirely appropriate” for Parliament to consider the competing interests of public safety and the reduced moral blameworthiness of violent young offenders.
The landmark judgment comes 100 years after Canada first adopted a separate justice system for adolescents in 1908.
The court was ruling specifically on the case of “D.B.,” a 17-year-old from Hamilton, Ont., who pleaded guilty to manslaughter following a 2003 fight in which he was the aggressor.
The Crown wanted to give D.B., who was already under two probation orders, a five-year adult sentence, but he was sentenced to three years of youth detention.
The Canadian Press
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