Teskey not a dangerous offender: lawyer

Leo Teskey, who has admitted the brutal beating that left an apartment building manager in a vegetative state, should not be declared a dangerous offender, his lawyer argued Tuesday.

Teskey has spent more than nine years in custody for an attack on Dougald Miller on Nov. 21, 2000, that left the man bedridden and unable to speak.

There have been multiple trials and appeals in Teskey's case, including one to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2007, where his aggravated assault conviction was dismissed and a new trial ordered. Teskey was found guilty on all counts at a second trial in February 2008.

"This has been a very hard thing over the years, and also on my family and on society. I'm sorry for everything," Teskey told a provincial court judge during his dangerous offender hearing in Edmonton Tuesday. "I did wrong.

"I can never take this back," Teskey continued. "[It's] something I think about every day since this happened. I'm just really, really sorry for what I did."

Teskey's lawyer argued that because his client has accepted responsibility and expressed remorse, he should not be declared a dangerous offender, which would result in an indefinite prison sentence.

Outside the court, Lesley Miller, Dougald Miller's wife, said she didn't believe a word of Teskey's apology.

"He is only saying what he thinks the judge wants to hear," she said.

"You know he's complaining about how he's been nine years and three months so many days incarcerated and he's sorry for what he's done. You know, Dougald has been incarcerated [because of his injuries] longer than that. And will be for the rest of his life."

The defence is asking that Teskey be sentenced to four to six years and be declared a long-term offender, instead of a dangerous offender. That designation would bring 10 years of close community supervision following his release. Miller believes that would be a mistake.

"If he gets out, he will murder somebody," said Miller. "I've heard that from our police force that he is a psychopath and he will kill if he gets back out again."

The dangerous offender designation the Crown is seeking carries an indefinite sentence that would keep Teskey behind bars until the National Parole Board is convinced he's no longer a threat.

The judge will give his decision in July.