Jordan Manners Case Reaches Mistrial

Quite a few weeks ago, I posted about the murder of Jordan Manners, a 15 year old in the GTA, who was shot dead in the school hallway by two miscreants who remain anonymous due to their age. Now, last Friday, the trial of the murder of Jordan Manners has come to a close, and due to a disagreement in the jury, the conclusion was a mistrial. This decision was made after 4 days in deliberation didn't change that a unanimous decision hadn't been reached yet. Quite suspiciously, Ian Nordheimer, the judge, is believed to having placed blame for this on two teenage witnesses, for not providing sufficient testimonies; while sharing the theory with the court, the jury was not informed about this information. Had the jury been told this, rather than believing there was not enough evidence at all, they would know that information had been poorly told by the two witnesses. As is to be expected, the family of the deceased ordan Manners has requested a retrial, so justice may be found.

The trial of Jordan Manners has reached quite a significant bump in the road, but I still stand by my belief that these two teenagers should be persecuted of this crime. Giorgio Mammolti, known for his proposal of a teenage curfew, is a Toronto mayoral candidate who now suggests that convicted gang members should remain on a database, with constantly added information in order to track them. I believe this is too strong, and people will disagree. This is helpful, but not a solution, as we will only be preventing the second crime, but the murder of Jordan Manners would not have necessarily been prevented by this idea. Overall, I think this problem needs a solution, but rather than mistrials and strict politicians, there should be a real solution brought forward.

Fifteen Year Old's Murder Trial Begins

Two twenty year old men are just about to be tried for the horrible crime they commit as seventeen year old boys, the murder of fifteen year old Jordan Manners. The homicide occured in the middle of the hallway at C.W Jeffrey's Collegiate, where the two culprits got away without identification, after shooting the boy several times. Due to the age of the culprits at the time of the crime, they will remain anonymous, but within four days, one guilty man was found during an investigation, and the second turned himself in, shortly after his accomplice was caught. Toronto District School Board has now released an 1000 page report following this, which will be followed by taking serious action against all sorts of sexual harassment and violence that go unreported, which happens far too often in these schools. More resources and a phone hotline are ideas of things that should be provided for the predicted 250,000 kids who go to these schools in fear. His funeral recalled the boy as being a fun loving and honest young man, and his memory will now help to clean up the bad situations in these schools.

I definitlely think this is a horrific crime, and that these two culprits should be trialed as aduts, as a seventeen year old should most certainly know that murdering people in the middle of a school hallway isn't the best idea. I do think, though, that these environments are very hard on young men, who need stimulation through means of creative or active extracurricular activities, rather than find their fun in gang culture. The school board is not going about fixing this the right way, as troubled men are not likely to call a hotline, but to take a support disguised as a fun activity. I really think that the other problem is that these young men were able to get into school carrying two handguns, and that the security in these rougher areas should be stricter. But as you saw in my previous entry, random acts of violence and vandalism can occur at absolutely any school. Overall, I offer my sincere condolences to the young man whose life was taken away far too early.