‘Colonialism destroys the lives of Indigenous people,’ judge says during sentencing for slaying committed by teen

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2022 (1173 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A youth who fatally drove a knife through a man’s heart outside a Higgins Avenue hotel two years ago has been sentenced to three years less a day for manslaughter.

Joshua Robert Jeromiah Hansen was 29 on Aug. 6, 2020, when he was assaulted in the parking lot of the Mount Royal Hotel just before 11 p.m. in an attack Winnipeg police described as unprovoked. He died in hospital of critical injuries.

Days later, homicide investigators arrested an adult before arresting the youth on Aug. 16. Their investigation alleged the youth had also stabbed a woman just minutes before Hansen was attacked. She was treated for her injuries.

The now-19-year-old man convicted in Hansen’s slaying, identified by provincial court Judge Cynthia Devine by his initials — H.M. — was 17 years and seven-months-old at the time of the victim’s death. He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Devine read from her lengthy written decision at a Winnipeg sentencing hearing Wednesday.

“This was a very difficult decision — a horrible crime has ended the life of a young man who is sorely and grievously missed by his family and friends,” she told court.

“That horrible crime was committed by a teenager on the verge of chronological adulthood, who has many deficits and has experienced inherited and internalized many traumas.”

Crown attorneys Michael Donald and Carrie Ritchot had sought an adult sentence of eight years, but were not successful in convincing the court, Devine said.

• Man, teenage boy charged in stabbing death

“The offence in this case was unplanned and impulsive, and not demonstrative of adult decision making,” Devine told court.

“The evidence supporting H.M.’s reduced moral culpability is overwhelming — his family history tells the story of how colonialism destroys the lives of Indigenous people.”

H.M. has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, extremely low cognitive functioning, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a slew of other psychological issues, Devine said, and his life has been hugely impacted by the traumas of colonialism and residential schools. He was intoxicated at the time of the killing.

His most recent psychological assessment found him to have a IQ of between 55 and 65. The average is considered to fall between 85 and 115.

“Every psychiatric, medical, psychological and multidisciplinary assessment filed in this matter comes to the same conclusion: H.M. is a young person with extremely diminished cognitive and functional abilities, who presents as a low-functioning person,” Devine said.

Hansen was beloved by his family and friends, and was a talented Indigenous hoop dancer, Devine told court, and his death has devastated them.

“Joshua Hansen, from all accounts, was a loving, kind, joyful and talented 29-year-old young man and proud member of the LBGTQ community. He was very involved in the lives of his family,” she said.

Hansen’s family attended each day of the four-day hearing, Devine said, and gave victim impact statements on the loss of his life.

His mother, a residential school survivor who grew up in the foster-care system, said her heart was shattered when Hansen died. She went from a happy, loving mother to a woman who sleeps two hours a night, struggling mentally. His sister has moved from Winnipeg and has post-traumatic stress disorder. His father said the family was robbed of someone precious. Three of his aunts provided statements, as did his stepfather and best friend.

“To these beloved members of Joshua Hansen’s circle, I want you to know that I heard you,” Devine said, her voice strained with emotion.

“I thank for your victim impact statements. I know that nothing I can decide will change the fact this hole left in your lives, but I must decide this issue on the basis of law.”

Devine sentenced H.M. to three years less a day in secure youth custody and one day of conditional supervision. He has been in custody since August 2020, serving time for a robbery and awaiting the manslaughter hearing.

H.M. was sentenced to a 20-year weapons prohibition, which the Crown had sought over the mandatory two-year ban imposed in youth sentencings. He’s also mandated to receive rehabilative services.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera