A Saskatoon psychiatrist says a young man involved in the brutal slaying of La Ronge restauranteur Simon Grant two years ago would be best served by an adult prison sentence.
The male, who was only 17 at the time of the assault, was one three attackers present when Grant was fatally beaten with a baseball bat in April 2017.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year but the Crown is seeking an adult sentence.
At a pre-sentencing hearing in Saskatoon on Wednesday, Dr. Declan Quinn said the man would have best access to the rehabilitative services he needs in the federal system.
Crown prosecutor Ruth Fafard says she agrees.
“A federal sentence would provide needed safeguards for the community with the parole system but would also provide a lot of rehabilitative opportunities,” she says.
Grant’s wife Cora Laich also says there is no doubt in her mind justice would be best served by a longer prison sentence in a federal penitentiary for the offender.
“The culpability of, the planning of the crime, the fact that they called the restaurant and ordered some food previous to going in and attacking Simon because they wanted to make sure he was there,” she says. “And just masking up and having weapons and just the steps that were taken. It’s very much the thought process of an adult not of what we would refer to as a child.”
The maximum youth sentence for manslaughter is three years.
The man is due to be sentenced in La Ronge on May 30.
(PHOTO: Simon Grant, left, and Cora Laich, right. File photo.)