Posted on 04/11/2012 2:18:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A man who repeatedly attacked a defenseless fellow inmate in the Toronto “Don” Jail for eating his potato chips has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 12 years.
“This was not only absolutely senseless it was exceptionally brutal,” Ontario Superior Court Justice John McMahon said Wednesday.
The most significant mitigating factor is that Troy Campbell, 26, pleaded guilty and has taken responsibility for killing Jeff Munro, 31, on Nov. 7, 2009, sparing the victim’s family the hardship of a lengthy trial, McMahon said.
Originally charged with first-degree murder, Campbell pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
McMahon noted there were challenges with the Crown’s case.
“Prison murders are never easy to prove,” McMahon said. There was significant forensic evidence – Munro’s DNA was found on the soles of Campbell’s shoes – but the witnesses were all inmates on the jail’s psychiatric unit who were traumatized and feared testifying, particularly those still in custody.
Cambpell stomped on Munro’s head, then returned to his cell three times to attack the smaller man lying on his cot. “Nobody punks me off for a bag of chips,” Campbell was heard to say.
“Mr. Munro did not suffer an easy death,” McMahon said. Another aggravating factor was that Campbell tried to conceal the killing, ordering inmates to cover Munro with a sheet and threatening them. The attacks happened around 4 p.m. but Munro was not discovered until 7:40.
Crown was asking for a parole eligibility period of no less than 13 years while the defence asked for 10 years.
Campbell, 26, suffers from schizophrenia and has been in and out of hospitals, psychiatric institutions and jail since his teens. However, there is “no evidence the illness played a role in the killing,” McMahon said.
He has 10 prior convictions for assault and robbery, including the assault of a jail guard after he was charged with killing Munro.
A coroner’s inquest will be scheduled now that the court proceeding has ended. Inquests are mandatory in Ontario when someone dies in custody from something other than natural causes.
Meanwhile, Munro’s family will continue searching for answers.
His mother, Christine, said people like her late son should be put in a separate facility “with surveillance everywhere and guards on patrol.”
Originally from Brantford, Ont., Munro’s career as a professional dancer was derailed by drug addiction and mental illness. He was in custody after being arrested for exposing himself on a Toronto street.
His mother said a lawsuit she has filed is not about collecting a windfall. “It’s simply accountability,” she said Wednesday outside the downtown courthouse.
Raymond Munro, Jeff’s father, called the sentence fair but said “our hearts are filled with sorrow.”
One time, my brother ate all the chocolate out of the Neapolitan ice cream, so I smashed a whisky bottle over his head.
Full or empty?
Half full, but not to worry, it was the crappy stuff I buy, not the good stuff he buys.
I imagine it is kind of different in a violent enviroment like a prison. If you are seen to allow other people to take advantage of you, you will be victimised because of it. It isn’t like normal society were you can just walk away and get on with your life.
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