Dwayne Ginn sentenced to six years for manslaughter
Ginn fatally stabbed Mark Hamlyn outside Kilbride boarding house during fight over opposing lifestyles
Dwayne Ginn was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for killing a man during a fight outside their Kilbride boarding house two years ago.
Ginn had initially been charged with murder before pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the death of Mark Hamlyn, 41.
Noting the range of sentencing across the country for manslaughter is broad and fact-specific, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Valerie Marshall said six years was an appropriate sentence for Ginn in the circumstances.
Marshall listed what she described as significant aggravating factors in the case, including Ginn’s disproportionately violent reaction to being assaulted by Hamlyn; his use of a knife to stab Hamlyn, who was unarmed, more than once; and his failure to stay at the scene or seek help for Hamlyn’s injuries.
She weighed those factors against mitigating elements, including Ginn’s mentalhealth issues, early guilty plea, cooperation with police, and Hamlyn’s instigation of the altercation.
Ginn has expressed sincere remorse, the judge said, and has participated in rehabilitation programs while in prison on remand.
“Mr. Ginn’s participation in programming and psychological intervention indicates a desire and willingness for rehabilitation, and suggests he has good prospects for rehabilitation,” Marshall said.
She granted Ginn, 41, about 2 ½ years credit for the time he has spent on remand. Along with the jail sentence, she ordered Ginn to provide a DNA sample to a police database and banned him from owning weapons for life.
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court earlier this month by prosecutor Nicole Hurley, Ginn had a habit of staying up late and talking loudly to himself, which aggravated Hamlyn, who had confronted him about the behaviour before the early morning hours of June 14, when Ginn lit up a joint on the back porch of the boarding house. Hamlyn came outside upset and shouted that he had been woken up by the smell of marijuana. He knocked the joint from Ginn’s mouth and punched him in the cheek.
Ginn told Royal Newfoundland Constabulary investigators he pulled out a knife and swung it at Hamlyn while telling him to back off, before falling onto Hamlyn with the weapon in his hand. Ginn ended up on top of Hamlyn, punching him.
Two other men living in the residence said they had been woken up by a loud argument. One said he had pulled Ginn off Hamlyn, who asked him to call paramedics; the other said Hamlyn told him he was bleeding out and was going to die.
Two RNC officers responding to the 911 call encountered Ginn walking along the road and noticed blood on his hands. Ginn accepted their offer of a ride home, where they found Hamlyn unconscious on the ground next to a large folding knife.
An autopsy revealed Hamlyn, who had multiple stab wounds and other injuries, died of blood loss after a stab to the groin.
He is remembered by loved ones as a car enthusiast, a skilled auto body mechanic, a dog lover and someone who was often smiling.
Ginn’s lawyer, Jason Edwards, had requested a psychiatric evaluation for his client at his arraignment a year ago, after Ginn launched into a profanity-laced tirade and demanded his trial be presided over by King Charles. Edwards has told the court Ginn has no specific mental-health diagnoses, but struggles with issues related to childhood trauma and other factors, and carries a trauma support doll.
Ginn also addressed the court at his sentencing hearing, apologizing for his actions and saying, “I never expected or intended for any of this to happen.”
He said he hopes to take paramedical training when he is released.