Young Offender Act Needs A Rewrite
Teen apologizes for fatal rock-throw
EDMONTON (CP) - With a heavy sigh and a deep breath, the second teen involved in tossing from an overpass a rock that killed school bus driver Robert Stanley stood up in court yesterday and apologized to the man's family.
But relatives of the 75-year-old man who died in 2002 said it was too little, too late.
"I am sorry for all the pain I caused you, and I hope some day it will be better for you," the 19-year-old said to the approximately 10 family members sitting across the courtroom aisle.
The teenager's apology during sentencing arguments yesterday came two months after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in what provincial youth court Judge Danielle Dalton has called "adolescent stupidity at its zenith."
His accomplice, the self-described "ringleader" who came up with the idea, was sentenced in June to six months of house arrest followed by 18 months of probation as well as 240 hours of community service.
That sentence followed his guilty plea to manslaughter in March and a special seven-hour community conference with Stanley's family where he cried throughout the session and, at one point, collapsed with grief.
Stanley's family supported the first teen not being sent to jail.
But they called for a harsher sentence yesterday, saying that the second teenager initially chose to go to trial and only pleaded guilty after his accomplice had been sentenced.
"Because of the delay of this second individual, I think there is no remorse," said Stanley's oldest son, Bruce, in a victim impact statement.
The social workers of the world really screwed up big time when they got the Young Offender Act passed through Parliament. It replaced the Juvenile Delinquents Act which made the parents responsible for their children breaking the law. Now these little sob's are unsupervised by their non-involved parents and allowed to go out and create havoc. Of course, if caught doing something really bad they just say, "Sorry."
