A grieving father wants people to recognize the difficulties that he says come with Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Stephen Culley wants justice for his daughter, Danielle, who was killed in a collision near Belleville two years ago.
At the time, the driver who hit Danielle’s vehicle was a 16-year-old male. He was driving the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of the HWY 401 near Cannifton road on August 27th 2017.
At the time of the crash, Danielle was with her fiancé, who survived the crash but has no memory of what happened.
The male youth was charged and later convicted of manslaughter, with a three-year sentence.
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the convicted teen’s identity cannot be released.
WATCH: (Aug. 14, 2019) Grieving B.C. father speaks out about fatal crash that took his son’s life
Last week, Culley and his wife were surprised when they received a call, notifying them that the convicted teen would be receiving day parole.
The convicted teen is expected to be released in July of 2020.
“I think that’s really what set us all off,” Culley said. “I’m sorry, but what about a break for us? What about Danielle?
“People just need to know about the juvenile laws and that they need to change.”
However, Blair Crew, the director of Queen’s Legal Aid, told Global News that the Youth Criminal Justice Act was established by the Supreme Court of Canada to recognize increased vulnerability and immaturity among youth, meaning they are less capable of understanding the effect of their actions than adults who commit the same offence.
“Under all the circumstances, the Crown would probably have a hard time demonstrating a specific intention to kill another individual,” says Crew.