The mental health of a 16-year-old student who stabbed two people at a Halifax high school was the subject of a sentencing hearing Wednesday, but details about his medical history were immediately banned from publication.
The teen, whose identity is already protected from publication because of his age, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of aggravated assault in Nova Scotia Youth Justice Court.
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During Wednesday’s hearing, provincial court Judge Elizabeth Buckle approved an additional ban to prevent public disclosure of details from the testimony of two expert witnesses — a psychiatrist and a psychologist who provided treatment to the boy after the stabbings in March 2023.
Buckle said the new ban applied to details revealed in court about the boy’s family and medical history, including disclosures he made about his mental health during clinical treatment.
The judge said making such personal information public would interfere with the boy’s rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Buckle said the ban was needed in this case because the boy’s name and photograph have been shared widely on social media and linked with media reports that don’t have that information.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
