‘ Justice system’s Jacob Marley’ gets jail time

A Niagara Falls man whose struggles with addiction and mental health issues should serve as a poster child for how society fails marginalized people, a local lawyer said Monday.

“It’s ironic he’s here around Christmas,” John Bothwell said of his client Bradley Stirtzinger. “He is the justice system’s Jacob Marley. He’s here to remind us of what we don’t do very well — providing supports for people in the community like Mr. Stirtzinger.”

Jacob Marley is a character from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. As Ebenezer Scrooge’s deceased business partner, he is a ghost who wanders the earth as punishment for his greedy and uncaring attitude towards others. In Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Monday, Bothwell said the 53- year- old defendant is in need of support rather than condemnation. “Yes, he’s a problem in the community,” he conceded to Judge Tory Colvin. “Mr. Stirtzinger is not able to function in our society.”

The Niagara man has a lengthy criminal record. His latest offences occurred in November and included smashing the glass door of a Chippawa variety store, tossing a rock through a pane of glass in a bus shelter and assaulting a man after being told to leave the Niagara- on- the- Lake campus of Niagara College.

Assistant Crown attorney Timothy Hill had asked the judge to consider a

90- day jail term.

Bothwell argued jail won’t help his client and a period of probation would serve no purpose.

Bothwell said Stirtzinger struggles with a number of mental illnesses as well as alcoholism. He said he became addicted to sniffing airplane glue at nine and addicted to alcohol at seven. Also, it’s unlikely the government will ever see any cash to cover the cost of damage he caused because Stirtzinger has no income.

The judge imposed a 45- day jail term. With credit for time served in pretrial custody, the defendant must serve a further six days behind bars.