Court heard that Justin Harder, 18, was bragging to his friend Calvin Wesley Clackson, 21 about a “stab-proof” vest he’d just acquired as they hung out in an apartment suite at 106th Avenue and 116th Street, Crown prosecutor Mark Huyser-Wierenga told court.

Harder was so confident in the vest that night in October 2012 that he believed it would deflect any attack with a knife. Harder eagerly invited his friend to stab him in the chest to prove the vest worked.

“Mr. Clackson foolishly obliged him,” Huyser-Wierenga said.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Clackson stabbed at his friend with a folding knife. The blade tore through the vest and plunged into Harder’s chest near his heart.

When Clackson withdrew the blade and saw “blood spurting all over the place,” he fled the apartment.

Harder was seriously injured and only survived because of emergency surgery that night, court heard.

“It was a non-stab-proof vest, if you can call it that,” Huyser-Wierenga said.

Provincial court Judge Michael Allen sentenced Clackson to twice what the prosecution had argued for.

“This was a pretty serious incident, even though the victim was incredibly stupid, to put it politely,” the judge told court. “It was foolish of the friend to give the invitation, but it was criminally negligent for Mr. Clackson to take up the invitation. Stabbing a person in the heart area, irrespective of a vest or not, is a dangerous activity.”

Allen called the six-month sentence “extremely charitable” and gave Clackson credit for an early guilty plea and a harsh upbringing in Edmonton.

At the time of the incident, police said the vest was made from steel plates and mesh.

Clackson pleaded guilty to one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Defence lawyer Akram Attia told court that Clackson and Harder were “very close friends” and the stabbing was purely inadvertent. “There was absolutely no intention to cause harm. Stupidity ran deep that night.”

Court heard that Harder was not co-operative with investigators after his recovery.

On Tuesday, Clackson also pleaded guilty to breaching numerous court orders and trying to cash a stolen cheque. The night he stabbed Harder, Clackson was on a court-ordered curfew and a no-contact order with his girlfriend, who witnessed the stabbing.

In the past two years, Clackson has been convicted of assault, mischief, drug possession and drug trafficking.

After credit for time served, Clackson has two months left to serve of the six-month sentence.

Submitted on 03/04/2014

Submitted by: ratoilfield@hotmail.com
Reference: Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal, December 13,2013

Copyright © 2014 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
As with most deaths involving two parties, there was no self-selection. The killer was certainly unwise to take his late friend up on the challenge, but had he said "no", the first party's death could have been avoided...Thanks just the same for the submission!

Candi said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
What James said.

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