There were few precedents for B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker when deciding on a sentence for the young offender convicted of manslaughter in the death of Langleysa国际传媒檚 Carson Crimeni.

Although both Crown and defense lawyers presented multiple cases to the judge during a sentencing hearing as possible points of comparison, Ker noted that this case was unique.

The offender, who cannot be named because he was 17 when the crime took place, gave Carson, 14, a massive overdose of MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly. Carson thought he had purchased three sa国际传媒渃aps,sa国际传媒� or doses, when in fact the offender had given him at least 10 doses. That was enough to drive Carsonsa国际传媒檚 temperature to 42掳 Celsius, or 107.6掳 Farenheit, and cause a fatal cardiac arrest.

When the offender pleased guilty to manslaughter, it was the first time that a young offender in Canada had been convicted of manslaughter for providing someone else with drugs.

There have been adults convicted of manslaughter for similar crimes, and there have been youths convicted of manslaughter for violent attacks.

Ker acknowledged the serious moral gravity of the crime sa国际传媒� knowingly giving a child a massive amount of drugs. While the offender and others watched sa国际传媒� some of them posting videos of the slurring, stumbling, and highly intoxicated Carson online sa国际传媒� he did nothing.

sa国际传媒淗e did not intervene, and seek out medical assistance for Carson,sa国际传媒� Ker noted in her reasons for sentencing on Thursday, Oct. 26.

The offender himself, his hair shaved down to stubble, sat quietly in the prisonersa国际传媒檚 box during the hearing. He seemed calm, unlike during the sentencing hearing last month, when he often fidgeted, , an incident his lawyer said was due to nerves.

His conduct, Ker said, was criminally reckless. While he did not intend for Carsonsa国际传媒檚 death, he must have known that amount of MDMA could be extremely dangerous.

She also noted the staggering impact on Carsonsa国际传媒檚 family, many of whom, including his father Aron and grandfather Darrel, were in the courtroom.

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sa国际传媒淏y all accounts, Carson Crimeni was the centre of the universe for everyone who filed a victim impact statement,sa国际传媒� the judge said.

She called the impact of his death sa国际传媒渟udden, tragic, far reaching, and unending.sa国际传媒�

Balanced against the gravity of the crime and the moral blameworthiness of the act, Ker spoke of the possibilities to rehabilitate the offender.

His life before the offense had been on a downward trajectory.

A poor student, diagnosed young with ADHD, the offender nevertheless came from a supportive, middle-class family and had not experienced abuse or neglect.

A violent assault at age 15 saw him kicked in the head and left unconscious in the snow.

sa国际传媒淭he attack was a significant turning point in his life,sa国际传媒� Ker said.

After that, the offender was more impulsive, suffered from greater inattention and anger, and had recurring nightmares.

From teenage drinking and experiments with cannabis, his drug use accelerated dramatically, trying a laundry-list of substances including cocaine, crack, benzodiazepines, MDMA, and Oxycontin. By age 17, he was a heavy daily user of hallucinogens, including magic mushrooms and LSD.

He was also a drug dealer of moderate sophistication, and had dropped out of both regular schooling and a special alternative program.

While Ker went over this portion of the offendersa国际传媒檚 life, his mother cried in the courtroom gallery.

His life up to the point of Carsonsa国际传媒檚 death was not an excuse, but it was an explanation, Ker said.

She noted that there were multiple pre-sentence reports on the offender, including two interviews with mental health professionals.

sa国际传媒淭he reportssa国际传媒� are not what I would characterize as glowing,sa国际传媒� Ker said.

She noted that both characterized him as either a moderate or high potential risk to re-offend, and said he tried to deflect blame for his actions, or failed to understand why the community was so upset over Carsonsa国际传媒檚 death.

Ker noted that both interviews were relatively brief, and said she hoped that the offendersa国际传媒檚 actions since Carsonsa国际传媒檚 death showed he had changed.

It was the post-crime conduct that she noted, including the fact that he has stopped using illegal drugs, has been working steadily, and was making progress towards getting a high school GED. After four years, he has had no further criminal charges.

Given that he appeared to be sa国际传媒渨ell on the road to rehabilitation,sa国际传媒� Ker said that the precedents and guidelines indicated some prison time had to be imposed, but that it should be the minimum necessary to provide consequences for the offender.

The Crown had asked for two years of prison time in a three-year overall sentence, while the defense had asked for 12 to 18 months.

After being told that he would spend the next year and a half in an adult provincial prison, the offender left the courtroom quietly with a court sheriff.