We previously blogged about Peter Brooks, a 76-year old man who had been found guilty of second-degree murder after Joycelyn Dickson who was beaten to death at a long term care facility in Scarborough in 2013. Brooks had used a cane to fatally injure the other resident. He was also charged with attempted murder following an attack on another elderly resident at the same facility.
Brooks has since been sentenced to life in prison, and will not be able to apply for parole for another 10 years, which is the minimum period of time following a second-degree murder conviction.
The Trial
Brooks’ defence lawyer had argued that Brooks was not criminally responsible for his actions. The defence relied on evidence by a forensic psychiatrist who testified that Brooks had been suffering from dementia and delusions at the time of the incident which had caused damage to his brain’s frontal lobe and left him unable to distinguish the consequences of his actions:
We all know that, regardless of what Peter’s belief was, there is nothing that can justify his actions. This is where Peter’s departure from society’s moral code becomes glaringly obvious. He is still unable to appreciate the moral wrongfulness of his actions.
The Crown had argued that despite Brooks’ mild dementia, he had deliberately and intentionally attacked the two residents for “sweet revenge” (which had been Brooks’ own words). Brooks’ belief that the women had been conspiring against him was based in reality as the women had complained to management on a number of occasions about violent or hostile interactions they had previously had with Brooks. It was the Crown’s position that there had been no evidence of “psychotic thinking that can be raised above suspiciousness”, that Brooks had threatened to kill the resident and then took steps to act on the threat, that he ultimately minimized his conduct and blamed the victims, and then lied to the jury about being unable to remember the murder and made up an account of being told to “beat” the women in a dream.
All second degree murder charges have an automatic sentence of life in prison. If you have been charged with murder or manslaughter, or have questions about other criminal charges and your rights, contact the Oshawa criminal lawyers at Affleck Barrison online or at 905-404-1947. We maintain a 24-hour call service to protect your rights and to ensure that you have access to justice at all times.