March 12 Toronto After only a few […]

When

1978-03-12

Description

March 12 Toronto After only a few hours of deliberation, an Ontario Supreme Court jury found Saul David Betesh and Robert Wayne Kribs guilty of first-degree murder, and Josef Woods guilty of second-degree murder, in the slaying of Emanuel Jaques. Werner Gruener was acquitted. On March 22, 1978, Justice Anthony Maloney sentenced Betesh, Kribs, and Woods to life in prison. Betesh and Kribs were not eligible for parole for twenty-five years; the trial jury recommended that Woods be eligible for parole after ten years, but Judge Maloney raised this to eighteen years. The men were sent to Kingston penitentiary where they served their sentences in a protective isolation unit. During his sentencing remarks, Maloney wondered aloud how common pedophilia was among homosexuals and questioned whether, in light of this case, homosexuals deserved protection from discrimination in the Ontario Human Rights Code. His remarks sparked outrage in Toronto's gay community. The Crown later attempted to appeal the acquittal of Gruener, as well as Woods's reduced charge, based on Justice Maloney's charge to the jury. (See also August 24, 1979.)

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