Ontario case could set special rules for sentencing black offenders, similar to Gladue for Indigenous people

Adrian Humphreys

‘When it comes to black people, the sentencing seems to be consistently void of any consideration of that additional source of disadvantage that they face’

What was set to be a simple appeal of a sentence for possession of a loaded handgun has burgeoned into a major push for judges to acutely focus on systemic racism against visible minorities when passing sentence, similar to special rules in place for Aboriginal offenders.

Eleven prominent human rights, legal and ethnic organizations have been granted special status in the government’s appeal of a “lenient” sentence of a black man in Toronto last year.

“As a general rule, interventions in criminal proceedings should be granted sparingly,” Ontario’s Chief Justice George Strathy wrote in a brief ruling on interveners released Tuesday.

“But the issues that arise in this appeal transcend the interests of the parties and are of significance to the administration of criminal justice. The proposed interveners are well-recognized organizations with experience and expertise in the issues raised in this appeal. They can offer perspectives that are different from those provided by the Crown and the respondent.”

The appeal stems from the sentencing of Kevin Morris, who was caught with a loaded handgun after fleeing police in 2014 in Toronto.

Last September, after a jury found him guilty, Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru specifically gave Morris, then 26, a self-declared “lenient” sentence of one year to address “one small step at a time, the problem of the disproportionate incarceration of black offenders.”

Nakatsuru’s lengthy sentencing decision was an impassioned declaration of the struggle to balance the public’s outcry over gun violence with systemic racism against young black males.

“I know that some may accuse me of being soft on crime. On gun crime. I do not believe that is so,” Nakatsuru began his decision that sparked the appeal.

“Recognizing, as the law must, that individuals are held responsible for the acts they commit that breach the criminal law, the reality is that this choice to act may be constrained by an offender’s life circumstances,” he wrote.

“These are systemic and case-specific factors that lessen your moral blameworthiness for this offence and soften the impact of general deterrence and denunciation.”

The Crown had sought a four to 41/2-year prison term for Morris and appealed the sentence. The Crown, however, did not object to the interveners.

full story at https://nationalpost.com/news/ontario-case-could-set-special-rules-for-sentencing-black-offenders-similar-to-gladue-for-indigenous-people