Some tough Canadian justice was served up today to a 31 yr. old Vancouver man, born in Montreal to parents who had come here from Jamaica. The jury gave Dennis Knibbs, on trial for murdering Trumaine "Ekoh" Nabib, 21, in the New Wings Hotel on Apr. 4, 2005, the maximum allowable: second degree murder. They rejected the option of manslaughter, although questions they sent back to the judge and lawyers suggest they grappled with it.
Knibbs will get an automatic 25 year sentence. He will have to serve a minimum of 10 years before he is eligible for parole.
Judge Silverman asked the jury of 8 women and four men, all White, except for two women of Japanese descent, to decide whether they would like to make a sentencing recommendation. They had the right, he explained, to recommend that Knibbs be required to serve more than ten years before being eligible for parole. The judge assured them that he would definitely take their recommendation into consideration. They wanted to go for lunch first. But they returned to the court room in mid-afternoon to recommend that Knibbs be eligible for parole after 10 years.
Knibbs remained stoic as the verdict was read. His lawyer, Glen Orris, who had in the moments before the verdict sat beside him and put his hand on the arm of Knibbs' chair, spoke softly to him now.
Knibbs made a cell phone call and then handed the phone to one of his male friends in the gallery.
A twenty-something Black woman who had accompanied Knibbs to court on the first day and regularly since, sobbed when the verdict was read -- Canadian style though, she didn't make a scene. Outside the courtroom, near the washroom which she had found locked on a Saturday, a young Black woman held her and she sobbed, louder.
Knibbs allowed the sheriffs to take him out to jail, no fuss. As he left, he turned to his male buddies who were sitting quietly, and with hand to forehead gave them a good-bye salute.
Ekoh Habib's family was not present for the verdict, although his mother has made appearances at the trial.
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6 comments:
Justice was finally served for my son and I Thank you Jr. for writing about the trial, know my family and I can move on...
Good job.
Who goes into a hotel they were just banned from toting a SHOTGUN?!! If you got beat and was told not to come back somewhere.... why would you go back with a shotgun?!! What a joke. Its obvious why this guy went back with a deadly weapon.. to use deadly force. I'm sure if he took it, he intended to what? use it as a coat hanger? He brought a gun used a gun and died by the gun, big surprise! What happened to eye for an eye now one FOR SURE mureder of a fellow black man is dead (Habib, that makes 2 ) and another is put behind bars over what? SPECULATION that he MIGHT of been involved.... Please no justice was served here and we all know it. Mr.Habib pulled a weapon and was dealt with accordingly. These gentlemen all knew what game they were playing and two lost, why make three?
How can you call this a case . Have you been falling thru with all details . They dont have a case . No Evidence , so why convict . They know the crown couldn't prove anything and the judge's been dogging Dennis Knibbs since the beginning . Let me ask the jury this , " How could you say that Ecko acted on self defense if he was barred from the New Wings . Means he isnt allowed in . How do you know defendent wasn't tryin to escort him out of there . You convicted a innocent man , he did nothing wrong . All they were doing was kicking out a trouble maker and you sent him to jail . Whatever happen to " U MUST PROVE " Crown didn't prove nothing . This is more than Dennis knibbs . You have it out for black people and I really think that it's a nasty attitude . Let me ask everybody that took time to read all of these articles by J.r. Have someone proved he did it . YES OR NO
I appreciate Ekoh Habib’s mother, as well as supporters of Dennis Knibbs, taking the time to express their views on the verdict. The site meter on the Downtown Eastside Enquirer shows that members of the public are stopping to read these comments.
Like the judge said yesterday, it’s important to “keep the law in touch with the attitudes and beliefs of the community.”
Dennis knibbs, got exactly what he deserved, for a man to have even resorted to blaming his dead cousin for his crime. He's a menace to society and is where he's suppost to be. If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime.
Its times like this that we remember that its those who are left who suffer the most. NO matter which family you support there is suffering. But from the details I have read and heard they did not have to kill Trumaine.
I have no closure from hearing the verdict.. I am still angry and frustrated. None of us really knows what happened. Those who do are dead or have the ability to say whatever they want as there is no one to refute the claims.
In some ways I agree a little with all that has been said as well as I have my own thoughts and questions..
Why go back to the hotel? Why did they have to kill one another? Why did they beat Trumaine? Why couldnt this be a nightmare?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
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