Manitoba Judge Hands Lighter Sentence to Offender Due to Indigenous Status

The Manitoba Law Court building beside the Provincial Remand Centre in downtown Winnipeg in a file photo. The Canadian Press/John Woods

A Manitoba judge says he handed a violent offender a lighter sentence due to the offender’s indigenous status. The offender was found guilty of stabbing a man during a chance meeting, leading to the victim’s death.

Associate Chief Judge Geoffrey Bayly said he considered the background of Dean Bell, 31, when sentencing him in the Provincial Court of Manitoba in Swan River on Oct. 2.