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The lawyer for an admitted cat abuser said Monday his client should be locked up, just not behind bars.
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Defence counsel Adriano Iovinelli told provincial court Judge Greg Stirling that Cole Ehbrecht is not the same man who brutalized five kittens more than three years ago, including two which had to be euthanized.
As a result, Iovinelli said, Ehbrecht should be spared jail and handed a maximum conditional sentence order (CSO) of two years less a day.
The lawyer suggested Stirling could make the CSO the strictest possible, placing his client under house arrest for the duration of the term.
“I’m suggesting two years less a day house arrest, essentially being jailed in his own home,” Iovinelli said.
“There isn’t a more strict CSO.”
The lawyer noted Ehbrecht would be under those strict conditions for the entirety of his term and wouldn’t be eligible for early release like he would from a custodial sentence.
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“There’s no remission, you don’t get time off for good behaviour.”
But Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood said the conduct of Ehbrecht, now 22, warrants a stiff punishment of time behind bars.
Greenwood argued a two-year term in a federal penitentiary, followed by three years of probation, would be a suitable sentence.
She noted one of Ehbrecht’s justifications for his behaviour in abusing the five kittens was that he wasn’t properly taking his medications for mental health issues at the time.
“If anything this increases the moral blameworthiness of Mr. Ehbrecht,” Greenwood said.
“The result of that (irresponsible medicating) wasn’t a one-off incident where he harmed one kitten at one time.”
The prosecutor noted an assessment by psychologist Dr. Patrick Baillie deemed the offender a moderate-to-high risk to reoffend.
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“He tortured five kittens, two of whom had to be euthanized for what he did,” Greenwood said.
“There are multiple incidents of torture.”
Iovinelli said his client had a “turbulent adolescence” and his abuse of the kittens began not long after his 18th birthday.
But he said now that Ehbrecht is taking medications for his mental health problems, he is now in “the most stable position he has been in his entire life.”
Before Stirling adjourned his sentencing decision to June 29, the offender addressed court.
“I am very sorry for what I’ve done, I know what I did was very wrong,” Ehbrecht said.
“The person I am today is nothing like the person I used to be.”
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
Crown seeking two-year prison term for man who 'tortured' five kittens - Calgary Herald
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