Published January 12 by The Globe and Mail by journalist Anthony Reinhart , the article “Man acquitted on manslaughter charge in Creba shooting” strikes as very interesting. 15-year-old Jane Creba was shot December 26, 2005 while shopping in Toronto with her mother and sister. The teenager was caught in the cross-fire of a gun-fight that took place on Yonge Street. The man acquitted on the charge of manslaughter is known only as G.C. This is because the now 21-year-old man was underage at the time of the shooting. Accused of participating in a ‘common unlawful purpose’, G.C. was not alleged to be armed or of firing a weapon. The most intriguing part of this article was that it within 30 minutes of its posting on The Globe and Mail website it received six comments, after which all further comments have been disabled with the following editor’s note:
“We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons. We appreciate your understanding.”
The majority of these comments hold the belief that the man should have served a sentence in prison, claiming Canadian judges are “wimpy,” and that counseling and rehabilitation is not effective and the professionals are incompetent.
It is understandable to have ill-wishes for those involved in the gunfight on Yonge Street, Toronto on December 26, 2005, but is G.C. guilty by association, or a victim to a chain of violence? If the situation is observed from an unemotional level, it can be seen the difference of consequences the decision of the whether G.C. should have spent time in prison.
In one scenario, G.C., is sentenced time in prison, serves the time, and is released. During his stay in a penitentiary he encounters criminals from gangs, makes connections, and upon release becomes a member of a gang he has made connections with while in prison.
A second scenario would suggest G.C., receives a conditional sentence of, for example, 18 months house-arrest, including regular updates with a parole officer, the restriction of owning or using a firearm or associating with known felons, with the possibility of rehabilitation. The goal would be to readjust the young man into society as a valued member of the community.
A third scenario, includes G.C., being fully acquitted of the crime, and left to do what he pleases with life. The goal of the justice system is to decide without bias, the suiting punishment for offenders. They must do this by looking at the evidence in front of them, and without emotion. Sentencing G.C. with manslaughter when he was not alleged to be armed or fire a weapon is a sentence filled with revenge rather than facts.
While all three scenarios can end very differently, this does not change the fact that a young woman has died to get G.C., to this point. This situation should be used as an example that violence needs to end. Idealistically, this can be achieved with the correct strategy, unfortunately we live in a very realistic world.
As a final note, two men have been sentenced and convicted of the death of Jane Creba. 27-year-old Jeremiah Valentine pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder receiving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 12 years, whereas Jorrell Simpson-Rowe was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2008, receiving a life sentence with no chance of parole for seven years.
