Aboriginal youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder pleaded guilty to robbery. Accused took a shotgun into a liquor store and took two bottles of alcohol. Sentencing judge imposed a sentence that was functionally the maximum allowed for under the YCJA.
Held: Appeal allowed, sentence reduced to 15 months custody and supervision order.
“Little can be said about the range of sentence … except that the maximum sentence is typically reserved for those circumstances where the offender has a serious record, the offence involves violence, or both.” Given the various Gladue factors, the sentence was “particularly disproportionate.”
N. Cush – Defence Counsel