Convicted murderer with local ties arraigned in Canada

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October 21, 2010

Anonymous Press-Republican The Press Republican Thu Oct 21, 2010, 03:28 AM EDT

E Competency may determine plea of man convicted in Manor slaying

By MICHAEL TUTTON

Canadian Press Writer

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — A Halifax man extradited from the United States to face two murder charges in Nova Scotia will undergo psychiatric assessments to determine whether he is fit to stand trial and if he was mentally competent at the time of the alleged crimes.

Glen Race made a brief appearance Wednesday in provincial court in Bridgewater to face first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Michael Knott and Trevor Brewster, whose bodies were found dumped in secluded locations in May 2007.

Race was brought back to his native province on Friday from the United States, where he is serving a life sentence in the murder of Darcy Manor of Mooers.

Defense lawyer Joel Pink said he expects the court will consider Race's paranoid schizophrenia in dealing with the case.

"The purpose here is to have a finding that he was not criminally responsible and to get the necessary treatment that he deserves here in Canada," Pink said outside court.

Race was ordered to appear in provincial court in Halifax on Nov. 19 for his next hearing.

Pink said that at Race's U.S. murder trial, the lawyer didn't use the defense of insanity, even though there was a Canadian diagnosis that Race had paranoid schizophrenia.

Pink said he believed the trial in Canada will be very different because it will focus on Race's competency, which could influence his plea.

Crown lawyer Denise Smith said outside court that the extradition agreement with the United States requires that Race be returned to New York state, whatever the result of the Canadian legal process.

"Under the extradition process, we obtained an order from the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ... an order of temporary surrender, which says that within 45 days of these proceedings ending Mr. Race will be returned to the United States to serve the rest of his sentence there."

Pink said it's unclear if that agreement is enforceable.

"It may very well be that we will retain an expert on extradition to take a look at this. I suspect that Glen Race does have rights under the Charter of Rights."

Race was bearded, had closely cropped hair and wore what appeared to be prison-issued clothing during his court appearance. He did not speak as he followed the proceedings.

Pink said his client was receiving injections of anti-psychosis medicines in the U.S. jail where he was incarcerated and that his treatments will continue at a forensic unit in Halifax.

"Once he gets into the forensic unit, he will be reassessed and remedicated so we can keep him on an even keel so he can be properly represented," said Pink.

The deaths in May 2007 made national headlines.

Knott's body was found on a wooded path in southwestern Nova Scotia on May 5, 2007.

Four days later, the body of Brewster was found under a boardwalk at a lake in Halifax.

Authorities believe Race killed the two Halifax men and then snuck across the U.S. border, where he encountered Manor, a 35-year-old father of two, outside a secluded hunting camp in Mooers on May 10, 2007.

Manor, a volunteer firefighter, was shot as he was fixing something at camp, unaware that Race was hiding on the property.

Race was arrested on May 15, 2007, trying to cross the U.S.-Mexican border and brought back for trial in New York.

Before he was extradited to face the Canadian murder charges, he was serving his time at Attica Correctional Facility.