Homicide

#1 Ibrahim Ali, 28, charged with first-degree murder of Burnaby teen Marrisa Shen

Ibrahim Ali, a syrian refugee, was charged with the first degree murder of 13 year-old Marrisa Shen in Burnaby. Marrisa Shen was found dead early in the morning on July 19th, 2017. On September 7th Ibrahim was arrested and received a court hearing on September 14th. Ibrahim is innocent until he is proven guilty. The murder of Marrisa Shen has brought up many questions on immigration. In my opinion, allowing immigrants into the country is something that should not be taken lightly. I believe that the application process for entering the country should be strengthened and the amount of immigrants reduced. With these simple adjustments, citizens of Canada would feel safer and have an idea of who they are actually letting into the country.

#13 Dennis Oland murder retrial focuses on forensic evidence

Forensic evidence was the focus of Dennis Oland’s second-degree murder retrial. They used a special light that makes various compound fluoresce to search the victim’s body for any trace of evidence, such as hair and fibres, and used packing-style tape to collect 31 items. They seized hairs found between the fingers of both of Oland’s hands, swabbed his palms and took fingernail clippings to test for any DNA the killer might have left behind. A jury found Dennis Oland guilty of second-degree murder in December 2015, but the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial, citing an error in the trial judge’s instructions to the jury. Dennis Oland is now being retried by judge-alone, without a jury. The retrial, which began on Nov. 21, is expected to last four months. In my opinion, I believe Dennis Oland is guilty of second degree murder. The only reason he is not stuck in prison is because of our “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” rule. Oland showed many signs that he could be the murderer with circumstantial evidence but got lucky by not showing any direct evidence.

#19 Semi driver charged in Humboldt Broncos crash granted adjournment to new year

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the semi driver charged in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, was not in court on Tuesday as the judge granted another adjournment in the case. Sidhu is facing 16 charges of dangerous driving causing death and 13 of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the April 6 crash. The judge granted the adjournment and the case will be back in court on Jan. 8, 2019. It is the fifth adjournment in the matter. It is not clear when Sidhu will enter a plea. In my opinion, I think Jaskirat should not have been allowed an adjournment in his case. Dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, while dangerous driving causing bodily harm has a maximum sentence of 10 years. I believe Jaskirat deserves the maximum sentence for the amount of damage he has caused to people in Humboldt.

What I learned:

Homicide can be divided into two categories in Canada: culpable and non culpable homicide. 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, manslaughter and infanticide are all classified as culpable. Justifiable killings, such as self defense, are considered non culpable. Many homicide cases that I researched in Canada were considered murder of the 1st degree. The maximum sentence for 1st degree murder in Canada is 25 years with no parole. However, through the Dennis Oland case I found that you have to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order to be convicted.