Supreme Court

R. v. Abel, 2017 NWTSC 22 S-1-CR-2016-000099 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES IN THE MATTER OF: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN - v - DENEZA STANLEY JR. ABEL also known as STANLEY DESJARLAIS JR.; STANLEY ABEL JR. _________________________________________________________ Transcript of the Reasons for Sentence delivered by The Honourable Justice L.A. Charbonneau, sitting in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, on the 17th day of February, 2017. _________________________________________________________

APPEARANCES: Mr. M. Lecorre: Counsel for the Crown Mr. C.B. Davison: Counsel for the Accused (Charges under s. 236(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada) No i n f o r m a t i o n s ha l l be p u b l i s h e d in any d o c u m e n t or b r o a d c a s t or t r a n s m i t t e d in any way w h i c h c o u l d i d e n t i f y the v i c t i m or a w i t n e s s in t he s e p r o c e e d i n g s p u r s u a n t to s . 486 . 4 of the C r i m i n a l Cod e

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INDEX OF EXHIBITS NO. DEFINITION PAGE 4 SUPPORT LETTERS FOR S. ABEL 3 A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 2

1 THE COURT: Good afternoon, everyone. 2 Mr. Davison, would you like your client 3 seated with you for this proceedings? 4 MR. DAVISON: I would, please, yes. 5 THE COURT: You can go sit with your 6 lawyer, Mr. Abel. 7 I am ready to give my decision on this 8 matter. I will try to speak loud so that 9 everybody can hear me. I know there is a lot of 10 people here. Before I begin, though, we do have 11 to mark as exhibits the support letters that were 12 sent to the Registry by Mr. Davison. 13 Mr. Lecorre, you confirm you are consenting 14 to this? 15 MR. LECORRE: Absolutely. 16 THE COURT: All right. So there was the 17 first group of letters and then a subsequent one, 18 so they will all be marked collectively as the 19 next exhibit. 20 MR. DAVISON: Thank you. 21 EXHIBIT S-4: SUPPORT LETTERS FOR S. ABEL 22 THE COURT: Today it is my responsibility 23 to sentence Stanley Abel. He has pleaded guilty 24 to a charge of manslaughter as a result of the 25 death of his uncle, H.A.. 26 Any time someone dies as result of being 27 assaulted by another person, it is traumatic for A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 3

1 the people who are close to the people involved, 2 and this case is no different. What makes it 3 even harder for everyone involved in this case is 4 that this happened within the same family. 5 Many people were here in court earlier this 6 week for the submissions and even more people are 7 here today. Certainly earlier this week, I saw 8 the pain and sadness and the devastation on the 9 faces of the people who were facing me as I was 10 listening to the circumstances of this case, the 11 Victim Impact Statements, and the sentencing 12 submissions. 13 I am sorry for your loss, and I know that 14 there is nothing that the court can do to repair 15 that loss. I only hope at the end of these court 16 proceedings everyone can continue with the 17 process and the long path that you all have to go 18 through to try to heal from what has happened. 19 The court received five Victim Impact 20 Statements. Some were read in open Court earlier 21 this week. And I, again, have to salute the 22 courage of the person who read them and the 23 wisdom of her words, as well as the wisdom of 24 some of the other things that were said in these 25 Victim Impact Statements. 26 Two of the Victim Impact Statements were 27 written by H.A.'s young children. They A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 4

1 wrote letters and they made drawings depicting 2 how they remember their father. Those were truly 3 heartbreaking to see and to hear read in Court. 4 The Victim Impact Statements put words to 5 things that I know are very difficult to explain 6 in words: The impact of these events on H.A’s 7 family, which is also Stanley Abel's 8 family. They also help me understand a little 9 bit more about who H.A. was and what he 10 meant to people. He was a gifted musician. He 11 was a good mechanic. He was very handy and 12 apparently could fix anything. He took his kids 13 out camping. He will be sorely missed by many 14 people. It is truly tragic that his life was cut 15 short in this way. 16 Stanley Abel was very close to H.A.. 17 That is also very clear from everything that I 18 have been told in this case. They grew up 19 together, hung out together, and were more like 20 brothers to one another than uncle and nephew. 21 And I know that whatever sentence I impose today, 22 Stanley Abel is already serving a life sentence 23 of sorts because he has to live for the rest of 24 his life with the terrible reality of what he has 25 done. I suspect, based on what I have observed 26 of Stanley Abel in court earlier this week, what 27 I am observing now, and having heard him address A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 5

1 his family after counsel submissions earlier this 2 week, that whatever sentence I impose today, it 3 is not going to be as difficult as living with 4 himself knowing what he has done. Still it is my 5 responsibility to impose a sentence on him for 6 this very serious crime. 7 In making that decision, just like in any 8 other sentencing, I have to take into account the 9 crime that was committed, the circumstances of 10 Stanley Abel, and the principles of sentencing 11 that are outlined in the Criminal Code. I need 12 to talk about these three things. The first 13 thing I will do is talk again about the 14 circumstances of this offence, although I know it 15 is painful for everyone to hear. 16 On the night this happened night, H.A. 17 had been out for supper at the Gold Range in 18 Yellowknife along with two other people, Ms. B 19 and Ms. M. They called a cab to return to 20 Dettah, and Stanley Abel joined them and they all 21 returned to Dettah together. They all went to a 22 house party and drank alcohol into the early 23 morning hours. 24 Stanley Abel drank so much that he has no 25 memory of anything that happened between drinking 26 at the house party and waking up at his house in 27 Yellowknife the next day. A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 6

1 One witness said that during the party at 2 one point, Stanley Abel said, "I could kill all 3 of you and you wouldn't even know it." There 4 does not seem to be any explanation or context 5 for why Stanley Abel said that at that particular 6 time, but it sounds like there was already some 7 sort of anger boiling inside of him even at that 8 point. Even though it seems from the evidence 9 before me that everyone in Stanley Abel's life 10 know him as a gentle and nonviolent person, 11 something was happening with him that night. 12 Eventually H.A. and Ms. B went 13 into a bedroom, and H.A. fell asleep on 14 the ground in front of the bed. Stanley Abel 15 became angry because he thought that they had 16 taken his bottle of vodka. He went inside the 17 bedroom and he attacked H.A. while H.A. 18 was sleeping. 19 Ms. B saw him punch H.A., elbow 20 him, and stomp him on the head while he was 21 sleeping. Ms. B tried to stop Stanley, but 22 she was not able to. 23 Ms. M heard the noise in the room and 24 she went in. She saw Stanley kicking H in 25 the head three or four times. She was not able 26 to stop him either. 27 Police were called; and when they arrived, A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 7

1 they saw that H.A. had injuries to his 2 face and was bleeding. Paramedics later arrived 3 and took H.A. to the hospital. By this 4 point Stanley had left. 5 H.A. died from head injuries. 6 Stanley Abel has been in custody since his 7 arrest. Counsel agree that he has spent a total 8 of 321 days in pretrial custody. 9 I now turn to Stanley Abel's personal 10 circumstances. 11 To understand more about him I have the 12 benefit of the submissions from his lawyer, of a 13 Presentence Report that was prepared and tells me 14 about his background and his circumstances, and I 15 also have a number of letters that were written 16 about him by people who know him and support him. 17 I will now say that, although I also heard 18 that Stanley Abel has a criminal record, it 19 contains only one conviction. It is unrelated 20 and minor, and that record was not at all a 21 factor in my decision today. 22 Stanley Abel is 31 years old and of 23 Chipewyan decent. He was more fortunate than 24 many offenders who come before this court as far 25 as the kind of upbringing he had. He appears to 26 have had a largely positive upbringing. He 27 himself describes it as a very good childhood. A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 8

1 That is what he told the author of the 2 Presentence Report. 3 He was taught traditional skills from a very 4 young age by his grandfather. He learned to 5 hunt, trap, and prepare traditional foods, and he 6 still has those skills today and can survive out 7 on the land. 8 Many years ago his parents did abuse alcohol 9 on occasion. The Presentence Report says that at 10 that point there was some domestic violence in 11 the home, although Stanley Abel does not have any 12 memories of that. He does remember some drinking 13 sometimes going on at the house on weekends and 14 that he would go to his grandparents' house when 15 this was happening. But there is no indication 16 that he was ever abused by anyone. I also know 17 from the report that many years ago his parents 18 stopped drinking and that resolved many of the 19 issues in the home. 20 Mr. Abel is an Aboriginal offender, and for 21 that reason, the principles and approach outlined 22 by the Supreme Court of Canada cases of R. v. 23 Gladue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688, 133 C.C.C. (3d) 385, 24 and R. v. Ipeelee, [2012] 1 S.C.R. 433, 280 25 C.C.C. (3d) 265, are applicable to this case; but 26 on the whole, Stanley Abel's counsel concedes 27 that Mr. Abel's specific circumstances are such A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 9

1 that the Gladue and Ipeelee factors are not as 2 significant as what we sometimes see in terms of 3 this sentencing. In other words, Mr. Abel was 4 fortunate to have had much better circumstances 5 growing up than many offenders who come before 6 the Court. 7 Alcohol was definitely a factor in the 8 commission of this crime, and I want to say a few 9 words about this. 10 The Presentence Report says that Mr. Abel 11 consumed alcohol for the first time when he was 12 13. By the time he was 18 years old, he was 13 using it on a regular basis. He would experience 14 blackouts. He ended up in police cells as a 15 result of his intoxication. 16 In the weeks prior to H.A.'s death, 17 Stanley had been drinking daily for two to three 18 weeks. As I already said, he drank so much on 19 the night of these events that he does not even 20 remember what he did. 21 Before H.A.'s death, Stanley Abel did 22 not think his consumption of alcohol was 23 problematic. That is despite having blackouts, 24 despite ending up in the drunk tank, despite 25 drinking for days and weeks in a row on occasion. 26 That, I think, is an indication of how normalized 27 the excessive consumption of alcohol is for some A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 10

1 members of our community. 2 Alcohol abuse is a serious social and health 3 problem in this jurisdiction. There are many 4 reasons why people drink to excess. Often those 5 reasons are complicated. It may start just as 6 something people do with their peer group and 7 then it becomes an addiction. 8 We also see a lot of cases in the criminal 9 courts where we hear about people having started 10 consuming alcohol at a very young age. We often 11 hear and read that people consume alcohol to numb 12 themselves to memories or difficult circumstances 13 that they simply feel they cannot otherwise cope 14 with. But, of course, getting drunk does not 15 resolve any problems, and more often than not it 16 leads to more problems. 17 Addictions can be overcome, even though it 18 is a lifelong battle. There are many people who 19 are the walking proof that addictions can be 20 overcome. For some, counselling and support 21 groups like AA can work. For others, much more 22 intensive treatment is needed. 23 The resources to help people address their 24 addiction issues are sorely lacking in this 25 jurisdiction. Addictions counsellors, 26 counsellors generally, and healthcare providers, 27 are all doing their best to assist people; but A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 11

1 given the magnitude of the problem, given the 2 impact it is having on adults and children in 3 this jurisdiction and the number of lives that 4 are affected and sometimes destroyed by this 5 problem, it seems clear that we need far more 6 resources to address this social problem. There 7 is no residential alcohol treatment centre in the 8 Northwest Territories. People can be referred 9 and sent outside of the jurisdiction for 10 residential alcohol treatment. That is better 11 than not having access to treatment at all, but 12 for some people it presents an additional 13 obstacle to being able to access treatment. 14 We see in the courts so many manifestations 15 of the ravages that substance abuse causes in our 16 communities and how much harm results from it 17 that we can only hope that someday, having more 18 resources and more avenues to assist people 19 overcoming their addictions and other problems 20 will be made more of a priority. 21 But something else has to be said about this 22 case. Alcohol was a factor in these events, yes; 23 but this case is not only about the excessive 24 consumption of alcohol. Sometimes when tragic 25 events like this happen those involved, the 26 offender, witnesses, family members, say that it 27 is "because of the alcohol". We often see this A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 12

1 comment in Presentence Reports when people are 2 asked to comment. We often read "This is not a 3 violent person." "This person is very nice when 4 sober." "It was the alcohol that did this." And 5 there are some comments to similar effect in this 6 case as well in the Presentence Report as well as 7 in the letters of support that I have read. 8 I understand what people mean when they say 9 that. They mean that the person would not have 10 acted in this way if they had been sober. But I 11 think everyone has to recognize that the truth is 12 there is always something more than that. Many 13 people drink. Many people drink to excess and do 14 not become violent. And even people who become 15 more aggressive and maybe somewhat violent when 16 they drink, most of them do not launch into the 17 kind of brutal senseless beating like the one 18 that happened in this case. 19 To lay a beating like this one on a sleeping 20 man over the perception that they had taken a 21 bottle of liquor cannot be explained only by the 22 fact that Stanley Abel was drunk. This was an 23 incredibly violent act. That anger and that rage 24 has to come from somewhere. It was buried inside 25 Mr. Abel, and for some reason if came out in that 26 moment. 27 I am not saying that his intoxication did A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 13

1 not contribute to this; but for what its worth, I 2 think it would be a grave error for him and for 3 those who love him and want to help him through 4 this to fall into the trap of thinking in terms 5 of this being only an alcohol problem. He has an 6 alcohol problem for sure, but the facts of this 7 case suggest that there was something at play 8 here aside from alcohol. 9 Sometimes we hear about an offender's 10 personal circumstance and background, and it is 11 so tragic. It involves so much abuse, loss, and 12 dysfunction that it is actually easy to 13 understand why the person is full of anger, why 14 they are turning to alcohol to numb the pain and 15 the memories of those hard times. In Mr. Abel's 16 case, it is not so clear, because as I said, his 17 upbringing appears to have been positive and 18 happy. 19 I hope that with help and with time Mr. Abel 20 will be able to understand more about what 21 happened that night. Because as hard as it is 22 for those who know him in a different way and 23 know him to be nonviolent, this violence did not 24 come from the outside. It came from inside of 25 him somehow. 26 I have talked about the circumstances of the 27 offence and about the circumstances of Mr. Abel. A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 14

1 As I have said, the other thing I have to take 2 into account today are the principles of 3 sentencing. In dealing with serious violent 4 offences like this one, deterrence and 5 denunciation are very important. All that means 6 is that the sentence has to send a message about 7 how serious this is and it has to hopefully try 8 to discourage violence in other people. 9 The crime of manslaughter has no minimum 10 punishment and the maximum punishment is life 11 imprisonment. That is the widest range of 12 sentence that could possibly be available to the 13 Court, and it reflects that there are many 14 circumstances that can make out the offence of 15 manslaughter. 16 What manslaughter means is causing someone's 17 death by an unlawful act. That unlawful act 18 could be a very minor assault that causes someone 19 to fall and hit their head and die. It could be 20 a single hit that causes a fatal injury. It 21 could involve a weapon or not involve a weapon. 22 Basically it covers situations all the way from 23 near accident to near murder, and that is why 24 there is such a wide range of sentences that can 25 be imposed for it. 26 The more dangerous the actions of the person 27 who caused the death, the more blameworthy it is A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 15

1 and the more the sentence has to reflect that. 2 In this case there were repeated blows and kicks 3 and stomping on the head on a sleeping and 4 completely helpless victim. That is very 5 serious, very dangerous, and very blameworthy 6 conduct, and it falls at the higher end of the 7 spectrum of seriousness. 8 So the level of blameworthiness is high for 9 this case. Mr. Abel attacked a completely 10 vulnerable victim without any provocation. The 11 attack was sustained. It was not just a single 12 blow, and it continued despite the fact that 13 others tried to intervene. 14 Balanced against that is the very important 15 mitigating factor and that is Mr. Abel's guilty 16 plea. Counsel has said, and I accept, that early 17 on after he was charged Mr. Abel indicated a 18 desire not to take this matter to trial. 19 His remorse was very clear to me during the 20 sentencing hearing. He cried through most of it. 21 It is very obvious to me today. And his remorse 22 was also obvious when he spoke earlier this week 23 at the end of the submissions. I have absolutely 24 no doubt that Mr. Abel is very, very sorry for 25 what he has done. He knows the harm he has 26 caused and wishes more than anything that he 27 could turn time back and change the course of A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 16

1 events. 2 The guilty plea has avoided this being even 3 more painful for the family and even more 4 divisive. With the certainty of outcome and the 5 completion of these proceedings much faster than 6 if they had gone to trial, everyone can now try 7 to move forward, move towards the healing, each 8 at their pace. The guilty plea, for all those 9 reasons, is extremely significant. 10 As I have said, Mr. Abel virtually has no 11 criminal record. The Presentence Report and the 12 support letters that were filed at the sentencing 13 hearing indicate that this was completely out of 14 character for him. 15 Counsel have given me cases to help me make 16 a decision in this case. Other cases are helpful 17 because they give examples of sentences imposed 18 on other people who were found guilty of 19 manslaughter, what kinds of things were 20 considered, and what range of sentences were 21 imposed. Of course, no two cases are ever alike, 22 and each sentence is arrived at by considering 23 the specific features in every case. And each 24 case has its own unique factors. It is very 25 difficult to compare cases. 26 In R. v. Bruha, 2003 NWTSC 41, and R. v. 27 Stromberg, 2002 NWTSC 49, for example, there were A.C.E. Reporting Services Inc. 17