Experts say the court should investigate the motives of Winnipegger Jeremy Skibicki, who has been charged with the first-degree murder of Crane River First Nation member Rebbeca Contois.
The charges follow the discovery of his body near an apartment complex in Winnipeg.
Anti-fascist researcher and former professor of criminology and sociology at the University of Winnipeg, Helmut-Harry Loewen, believes Mr. Skibicki’s online activities should be considered.
” I highly recommend that these first degree murder cases be scrutinized, that is, not just the publications [de l’accusé] on social networks, but also how these publications shape his way of thinking. “
On his Facebook page, Jeremy Skibicki appears as a official member of Holy Europea far-right group, according to Helmut-Harry Loewen.
On the site of Holy Europethe group calls for the re -Christianity of Europe and its colonies and promotes racist beliefs that are strongly opposed to, among other things, immigration and multiculturalism.
Mr. Loewen set out that these beliefs should be part of the investigation. A hate crime charge can result in a harsher sentence if the accused is found guilty.
Jeremy Skibicki’s lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, told CBC/Radio-Canada that his client will be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This is important in our criminal justice system. Without it, we do not exist. That’s what I want people to keep in mindhe says.
Mr. advised. Tailor his client not to speak publicly about the case or the charges involving him. These cases have not been proven in court.
Court documents state that in 2019, Mr. Skibicki’s wife, whose CBC / Radio-Canada maintains anonymity, sought a protection order from the court against him.
Also according to these documents, he was charged after two years of threatening her, assaulting her with a weapon and disobeying a court order.
Jeremy Skibicki’s trial date for the murder of Rebecca Contois has not yet been set. His next court hearing is on June 25.
They hate crimes
If there is proof that a guilt is motivated by prejudice or hatredthis may have an influence on the judgment of the accused, according to the Criminal Code of Canada.
However, researcher Helmut-Harry Loewen and the organization’s director Canadian Anti-Hate NetworkEvan Baglord, agrees that crimes are rarely labeled as heinous.
Often, Crown prosecutors say they don’t have enough evidence to prove such motivation before a judge, according to Evan Baglord.
” The result is that in very few cases an accused will receive a heavier sentence because their crime was motivated by hatred. Very hard to prove. “
Mr. Baglord believes more crimes should be investigated as incitement to hatred, including those committed against women. According to him, these are often considered domestic violence.
It doesn’t often happen that we consider the role of a man’s ideology and their hatred of women in their crime. Hopefully this will be seriously considered in the case of Jeremy Skibicki.
With information from Rachel Bergen
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
