A judge will announce on Aug. 30 whether a Saskatchewan man who viciously beat a homeless woman before setting her on fire will be declared a dangerous offender.
Leslie Ivan Black pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the sexual assault of Marlene Bird in Prince Albert in 2014.
READ MORE: Dangerous offender hearing delayed for man guilty of brutally beating woman in Sask.
Bird’s injuries were so serious, both legs had to be amputated and she lost much of her eyesight.
On Friday, Judge Stanley Loewen considered final arguments by the Crown and the defence in the case.
Defence lawyer Brent Little called Black’s actions brutal, but argued the one-time offence does not mean his client will violently offend again.
A psychologist testified during the hearing that Black is not necessarily at a high risk to reoffend if he gets intensive, long-term therapy.
Bird told court, in two hand-written pages made available in April, she now can’t do anything on her own, including simple things like picking a blueberry or going to the bathroom.
READ MORE: Court documents reveal lasting agony of assault on Marlene Bird
She wears adult diapers and can’t control her bowels, and she feels disgusted with herself when she can’t make it to the bathroom in time, the letters read.
She still fears entering the city because of the attack, she wrote.
Black read a statement in court last March, apologizing for the attack. He said if he could go back to the night he attacked Bird, he would have taken his father’s advice and stayed home.
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