PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — A guilty plea will stand for a man accused in an attack that left a Saskatchewan homeless woman badly burned and with both of her legs amputated.
Leslie Black had applied to recant his guilty plea to attempted murder in the attack on Marlene Bird in June 2014 in Prince Albert.
Brent Little, Black's defence lawyer, argued that Black's former counsel didn't not properly explain the consequences of pleading guilty and said Black didn't have the mental capacity to understand the proceedings.
But Justice Hugh Harradence says there's no evidence that Black suffers cognitive deficits to such an extent that his ability to understand is compromised.
Harradence says he believes Black was aware that he was entitled to a trial or he could instruct his lawyer to attempt to negotiate a plea.
The judge says Black may now be questioning his decision, but there's nothing that would suggest his guilty plea is invalid or should be set aside.
