An 18-year-old Winnipeg man has admitted to beating another man to death with a baseball bat in a plea bargain that will see him serve no more than four years in custody.
The man — who cannot be named because he was a youth at the time of the May 2008 killing — pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder.
Paul Cherewick, 30, was beaten with a bat following an altercation on Euclid Avenue. The victim suffered major head injuries but was able to walk several blocks to Flora Avenue, where he collapsed. Police didn’t discover Cherewick until about 10 hours after the attack. He died in hospital nine days later.
The accused remains in custody and will return to court following the completion of a pre-sentence report.
In exchange for his guilty plea prosecutors have agreed not to seek an adult sentence in the killing. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum sentence for second-degree murder is four years in custody followed by three years community supervision. An adult convicted of the same crime faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.
The man was free on bail in January 2010 when he was rearrested for allegedly stabbing a man on New Year’s Day. Police at the time said two men became involved in an argument during a party at a Charles Walk residence when one of the men stabbed the other in the upper body.
I agree with the plea bargain. Teens should not receive adult sentences as they are more likely to be negatively affected by prison and become more hardened criminals and more entrenched and influenced by gangs and drugs in prisons. More emphasis for teens should be placed on rehabilitation and reintegration as opposed to retribution.
I would like to know the mitigating factors related to this teen and more about his background life and defence arguments.
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