Written decision on sentence for Andre Denny expected in March

A written decision on a sentence for Andre Denny, convicted killer of Halifax gay rights activist Raymond Taavel, is expected to on March 24, a judge told the family-filled courtroom Monday.

Taavel was beaten to death outside a bar on Gottingen Street in April of 2012.

READ MORE: Family of Raymond Taavel describe grief, devastation after his murder

After multiple delays in the court process, Andre Noel Denny pleaded guilty to manslaughter last fall, more than three and a half years after the killing.

READ: Nearly 4 years later, Andre Denny still waiting to be sentenced in Raymond Taavel killing

Denny suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

At the time of Taavel’s death, he was a patient at the East Coast Forensic Hospital after being found “not criminally responsible” for another matter.

The night that Taavel died, Denny left the hospital on a one hour pass but didn’t return.

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READ MORE: Campaign launched to create public art in honour of Halifax activist Raymond Taavel

The crown and defence have already agreed that Denny should receive a 1.5 to 1 remand credit. That means that although Denny has been in custody for less than four years, he will be getting six years credit on whatever sentence the judge imposes.

The court is expected to hear three victim impact statements and watch a surveillance video from inside the bar on the night that Taavel was killed as part of Monday’s hearing.

It is expected that Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Peter Rosinski will reserve his decision following Monday’s hearing. In which case another court date will be set in the coming weeks.