In the wake of Toronto police charging a teenager with first-degree murder in the shooting death of eight-year-old Jahvai Roy, questions are being raised about the sentence he could receive if convicted. The suspect was 15 years old at the time of the shooting and is therefore protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

“We know with an adult sentence, it’s a mandatory life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. With a youth, the actual maximum term of custody is 10 years for a first-degree murder,” says criminal defence lawyer Nick Cake, who is not directly involved in the case.

However, Cake says only six years would be served in custody, with the remainder under conditional supervision. But how does time spent in custody prior to a sentence factor in if adults typically

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