Welcome to my Crime and Justice blog! I am a 19 year old criminal justice student at the University of Winnipeg. I advocate for prisoners' rights, human rights, equality and criminal justice/prison system reforms.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Parole eligibility set at 15 years for Cansanay


The man who fired the shot that killed an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of a gang turf war in Winnipeg's West End will spend 15 years behind bars before getting a shot at parole.
Court of Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg ruled Thursday morning on Jeff Cansanay's parole eligibility.
Greenberg said Cansanay has shown no interest in rehabilitation and that the public safety concerns presented by the case cried out for denunciation.
"Violence spilled onto the streets of the community, shattering the safety of the community," Greenberg said.
Cansanay, 24, was convicted of second-degree murder in late April for the death of teenager Phil Haiart in 2005.
Haiart was crossing the street near the corner of Sargent Avenue and Maryland Street when he was hit and killed by a single bullet meant for a gang member at war with Cansanay's own gang.
The Crown was seeking a 25-year period of prison without parole for Cansanay. In essence, it's the same sentence a person would receive for first-degree murder.
A second-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, but usually an offender becomes eligible for release on parole after serving 10 years.

Possible appeal

Cansanay's lawyer, Greg Brodsky, previously argued that anything more than a decade in prison would be too harsh.
Family members in court shook their heads in apparent disbelief after hearing Greenberg's ruling on Thursday.
Brodsky said after the hearing that he would be speaking with Cansanay about a possible appeal.
Because he is a citizen of The Philippines who came to Canada as a boy, Cansanay faces immediate deportation when he's released from prison.
He is also currently battling a deportation order based on a prior drug conviction.

Victim shot while crossing street

Another person, Corey Spence, was with Cansanay at the time of the shooting.
Spence remains behind bars after he was also convicted of murder.
The Crown's case against Cansanay and Spence was built on the theory that mounting tensions between the African Mafia and Mad Cowz street gangs led to the shooting.
Mad Cowz members were furious that Cansanay and Spence — both associates of the African Mafia gang — were selling crack cocaine out of a house located squarely in Mad Cowz turf in the city's West End.
When Mad Cowz members Cory Amyotte and Gharib Abdullah went to confront Cansanay and Spence outside a home at 606 McGee Street — just metres from where the shooting happened — Cansanay and Spence emerged from the home, with Cansanay brandishing a rifle.
Haiart was crossing the street when he was hit once in the stomach by a stray bullet. He died in hospital hours later.
The teen's killing prompted outrage in the city, and led police to crack down on crime in the area.
Operation Clean Sweep, as it was known, became a full-time policing detail now called the street crime unit.

1st trial collapsed

Cansanay's first trial in 2007 fell apart after Amyotte and Abdullah refused to testify against him and the judge hearing the case refused to let jurors see the videotaped statements they made to police that implicated him.
Brodsky asked for, and won a directed verdict of not guilty and Cansanay walked out of court a free man.
Manitoba's Court of Appeal ordered a new trial after Manitoba Justice appealed, saying the judge's decision was incorrect.
But the case languished as Cansanay attempted to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear an appeal of the retrial decision.
Canada's highest court refused, and Cansanay was rearrested.

Cansanay parole eligibility raised to 15 years in shooting
A Manitoba judge has refused to hand down the maximum sentence to a Winnipeg gang member who killed an innocent bystander during a gunfight with a drug-dealing rival.

Jeffrey Cansanay was convicted last month of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for at least 10 years. But the Crown wanted Justice Shawn Greenberg to order Cansanay to spend at least 25 years behind bars -- the same punishment a person convicted of first-degree murder would face and the most severe sentence in the Criminal Code.

Greenberg said Thursday she would only raise parole eligibility to 15 years, despite the nature of the crime and Cansanay's lack of remorse and bleak chances at rehabiliation.

Cansanay, 24, will likely be deported back to his native Philippines immediately upon release from prison, court was told.

Cansanay was convicted for his role in the October 2005 killing of Phil Haiart. Haiart, 17, was walking in the West End when he was caught in the crossfire. Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky argued there was no reason to depart from the minimum parole eligibility because his client had no intention of killing Haiart.

Jurors were asked to make a parole recommendation following their verdict. One wanted time before parole raised to 25 years, one wanted it raised to 17 years, three wanted it raised to 15 years, four wanted to keep it at 10 years, and three jurors had no suggestion.

Cansanay previously went on trial in 2007 but was cleared by a judge who refused to allow videotaped police statements of two unco-operative key witnesses to be played in court. The Manitoba Court of Appeal later overturned the decision and ordered a new trial, saying the judge had erred.

The two intended targets in the shooting were Gharib Abdullah and Cory Amyotte, who gave video statements in which they blamed Cansanay and co-accused, Corey Spence. Their street gang, the Mad Cowz, had been waging war on Cansanay and his associates for selling drugs on their turf. Their statements were pivotal to the Crown's case because police never recovered the gun used to shoot Haiart.

However, Abdullah and Amyotte refused to testify at Cansanay's first trial. The Crown tried to have their videotaped statements shown to jurors, but a judge refused. With no other evidence, the Crown was forced to close its case.

At Spence's trial, the judge allowed the videotaped evidence. The 19-year-old was convicted and given life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.

Abdullah and Amyotte were cited for contempt of court and received precedent-setting prison terms -- four years for Amyotte, three-and-a-half for Abdullah. Both men testified at Cansanay's second trial in March. Abdullah told jurors he saw Cansanay open fire on him and Amyotte. Amyotte said he was in hiding at the time and didn't see anything.

No parole for 15 years
A man convicted of second-degree murder in the drug world killing of innocent bystander Phil Haiart will have to serve 15 years in prison before he is eligible for release.
A jury convicted 24-year-old Jeffrey Cansanay of second-degree murder last month.
Justice Shawn Greenberg delivered her ruling this morning.
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years. Prosecutors argued Cansanay should serve the maximum period of 25 years before he is eligible for parole.
"The murder he committed was one of those harsh awakenings for the city of Winnipeg," Crown attorney Gerry Bowering said at a sentencing hearing last month.
Haiart, 17, was walking near a McGee Street crack house in October 2005 when he was caught in the line of fire of two warring gangs and suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Jurors heard evidence Cansanay and a then 17-year-old co-accused, Corey Spence, were associates of the African Mafia, a splinter gang of the Mad Cowz, with whom they were engaged in a bitter turf war.
Jurors heard Spence had split from the Mad Cowz to sell drugs on his own. The Crown argued he ordered Cansanay to shoot at rival gangsters Corey Amyotte and Gharib Abdullah as they fled the area on bicycles.
Haiart and another man were caught in the line of fire.
Jurors found Cansanay guilty of three additional counts of discharging a firearm and not guilty of two counts of attempted murder. Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky argued the verdict showed jurors believed Cansanay lacked the intention to kill.
"(The jury) found there was a recklessness that amounted to second-degree murder ... This is an issue of recklessness, not deliberation," said Brodsky, who urged Greenberg not to increase Cansanay's period of parole ineligibility.
Brodsky had argued for an acquital for self-defence, which was rejected. The jury did acquit Cansanay of attempted murder.
Cansanay stood trial two times for killing Haiart. Cansanay was acquitted at his first trial in 2008. Justice Morris Kaufman ruled at the time videotaped statements given to Winnipeg police by Amyotte, Abdullah and another street gangster Jammal Jacob could not be admitted as evidence.
The gang members refused to testify in person and the Crown's case collapsed. Without their police statements, the Crown had no direct evidence linking Cansanay to the killing.
All three gangsters were later convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to jail terms. Amyotte and Abdullah both testified at Cansanay's second trial.
Spence was convicted of second-degree murder following a trial in 2007 and sentenced as an adult to life in prison.
Cansanay, a native of the Philippines, faces almost certain deportation upon the completion of his sentence.

Bystander's killer gets at least 15 years in prison
A convicted killer must spend at least 15 years in prison before he has a chance to be released on parole -- and into the waiting arms of border officials, who plan to immediately deport him from Canada.
Jeffrey Cansanay was convicted in April of second-degree murder for killing an innocent bystander with a stray bullet meant for a drug-dealing rival. He is a citizen of the Philippines and is expected to be given a one-way ticket home because of his violent criminal history. However, Canadian law requires that he finish serving his sentence before he can be kicked out of the country.
Cansanay, 24, faced a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for at least 10 years. The Crown wanted that raised to 25 years, the same punishment a person convicted of first-degree murder would face and the most severe sentence in the Criminal Code. Cansanay's lawyer argued against the change.
Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg said Thursday she was upping the term to 15 years, citing Cansanay's lack of remorse, bleak prospects for rehabilitation and the nature of his crime. She noted there is no guarantee he will ever be released from prison.
Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky said they may consider appealing Greenberg's ruling, arguing there was no reason to depart from the minimum parole eligibility because his client had no intention to kill. Family and friends of the victim, Phil Haiart, expressed anger with the sentence.
"This man is a cold-blooded killer and convicted drug dealer. There is no justice for me or his family," Haiart's former girlfriend, Isora Van Dreser, said in an interview.
Haiart, 17, was walking through the West End in October 2005 when he was caught in the crossfire of a gang fight. The two intended targets in the shooting were Gharib Abdullah and Cory Amyotte, who gave video statements in which they blamed Cansanay and co-accused Corey Spence. Their street gang, the Mad Cowz, had been waging war on Cansanay and his associates for selling drugs on their turf. Their statements were pivotal to the Crown's case because police never recovered the gun used to shoot Haiart.
Cansanay previously went on trial in 2007 but was cleared by a judge who refused to allow videotaped police statements of Abdullah and Amyotte to be played in court after both men refused to testify. The Manitoba Court of Appeal later overturned the decision and ordered a new trial, saying the judge had erred.
Abdullah and Amyotte were cited for contempt of court and received precedent-setting prison terms -- four years for Amyotte, three-and-a-half for Abdullah for refusing to testify.
Both testified at Cansanay's second trial when it began earlier this spring. Abdullah told jurors he saw Cansanay open fire on him and Amyotte. Amyotte said he was in hiding at the time and didn't see anything.
At Spence's trial, the judge allowed the videotaped evidence. The 19-year-old was convicted of second-degree murder and given life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.

I disagree with the parole eligibility. I believe it should have been the minimum of 10 years. I completely disagree with mandatory minimum sentences as they treat all offenders as equal, when they are not. They also leave judges with no discretion to consider all of the circumstances surrounding an offender and the crime. I would like to know more about the mitigating factors in this case and more of the defence arguments and info about Cansanay's background life. I feel sorry for him, actually. As a young immigrant in Winnipeg's west end, he was surrounded by negative role models, gangs and crime and was likely pressured into becoming a gang member, either to make money to support his family or to support an addiction. 

Cansanay was convicted of three counts of discharging a firearm and of second degree murder, by a jury, which makes no sense. They believe that he was reckless in discharging a firearm, but then say he has the intent required for second degree murder? Cansanay recklessly fired a gun and shots accidentally hit the innocent man and his friend, which were intended for two rival gang members. This was not an intentional killing and Cansanay should have been found guilty of manslaughter instead of second degree murder, along with the 3 counts of discharging a firearm.

I also disagree with deportation of Cansanay. He is a Canadian citizen and it shouldn't matter where he came from, he should be allowed to stay in Canada. That is a right.  

Cansanay convicted in Haiart killing

Gang war led to Winnipeg killing: Crown

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