Teenage murder accomplice could get special sentence
A specialized youth sentence would be available to a 19-year-old man who played a role in the stabbing death of 16-yearold Hannah Leflar in 2015.
A sentencing hearing is being held at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench this week and next to determine whether the male — 16 at the time of the Jan. 12, 2015, homicide — will be sentenced as an adult or as a youth, having pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The adult sentence sought by the Crown would carry a mandatory life term with no chance of parole for seven years; the man is looking for a youth sentence that cannot exceed seven years, split between custody and community supervision.
On Wednesday, court heard about a sentencing option available under the youth sentencing regime called an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) order.
The province’s IRCS co-ordinator Jennifer Peterson told the court the youth was deemed eligible for the order should the court find fit to impose a youth sentence. Court heard the team who made the finding compared this youth to the other male who admitted to Leflar’s murder, Skylar Prockner.
“The biggest thing was (the 19-year-old) had performed better
overall in custody, he’s participated in programming and he’s shown himself to engage in treatment programs,” Peterson said.
An IRCS sentence uses federal funding to provide resources, programming and supervision options that might not be available under a regular youth sentence. As such, it’s intended to act as an alternative to an adult sentence in cases of serious violent offences in which an offender has a diagnosed mental illness.
Co-Crown prosecutor Chris White raised the issue of the youth’s age, noting he is less than a year from turning 20 — the age most offenders “age out” of the youth system.
Peterson acknowledged that was a concern, but added that factor was taken into consideration.