Defence lawyers for the La Loche shooter claim the judge ignored evidence of fetal alcohol syndrome, cognitive issues and Gladue factors when she handed down an adult sentence to the now 20-year-old man.
The claim is one of a handful the lawyers listed in an appeal of the shooter’s sentence. A few of the other claims argue Judge Janet McIvor did not properly apply elements of the Youth Criminal Justice Act in her ruling, and one argues she erred in her judgement of the shooter’s level of culpability and moral blameworthiness.
The shooter, who was handed an adult sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years last month, was weeks shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the January 2016 shooting. He fatally shot brothers Dayne and Drayden Fontaine at a home in La Loche before making his way to a school in the northern Saskatchewan community, where teacher Adam Wood and teacher’s aide Marie Janvier were killed and seven other people were injured.
Youth sentenced as adults can be named under Canadian law, but the shooter’s name is still protected because of the ongoing appeal.
News of the appeal was made public earlier this month, after a notice of appeal was filed, but reporters were only granted access to the document on Thursday, following an appeal judge’s ruling. The notice was not publicly accessible because the appeal involves a Youth Criminal Justice Act case.
A spokesperson for Saskatchewan Law Courts said earlier this month the appeal likely won’t be heard until the fall.
