Court of Appeal for Ontario
BEFORE: O’Connor A.C.J.O., Doherty and Blair JJ.A.
BETWEEN
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
and
Justin Barnswell
Applicant (Appellant)
COUNSEL:
Delmar Doucette, for the applicant (appellant)
Benita Wassenaar, for the respondent
HEARD: February 28, 2011
On appeal from the conviction entered by Justice M.L. Lack of the Superior Court of Justice dated August 19, 2009 and the sentence imposed on October 19, 2009.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1The conviction appeal was abandoned.
2The appellant concedes that the sentence imposed was in the appropriate range for this very serious offence of aggravated assault. The appellant stabbed the victim four times and one stab wound came perilously close to the victim’s jugular vein.
3We do not accept the appellant’s argument that the trial judge erred in the way she approached the issue of rehabilitation. In our view, it was open to the trial judge to take into account the appellant’s failure to perceive the connection between his lifestyle, which involved the extensive use of alcohol and marijuana, and the offence.
4In the result, the application for leave to appeal the sentence is granted but the appeal against sentence is dismissed.