An Ontario Superior Court judge has been asked to adopt a new way of sentencing Black offenders, similar to how courts must consider the impact of the social and cultural history of Indigenous Canadians when determining punishment. Nova Scotia is the only province that routinely orders — and pays for — such reports, Lam said in an interview. Across Canada, judges regularly request “Gladue” reports — named for a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada case — in cases involving Indigenous offenders. It will be up to Nakatsuru to determine how much weight to give the IRCA report, Lam said. “I just swayed the wrong the way and I want to come back and I need that opportunity.” Nakatsura said he will sentence Jackson April 23.

Source: thestar March 27, 2018 21:56 UTC