Appeal court sets aside Kitchener man’s murder conviction in Shawn Yorke murder case

One of the men convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a Kitchener man could be out of prison later this year after the Ontario Court of Appeal decided to set aside his conviction.

In 2021, Kenneth Morrison and Mowafag Saboon received an automatic life sentence each with no chance of parole for 25 years in connection to the 2018 shooting of Shawn Yorke.

Yorke was killed during a botched robbery at his home on Elm Ridge Drive.

The Appeal Court has decided to replace Morrison’s previous conviction for murder with manslaughter while dismissing Saboon’s appeal of his murder conviction.

Morrison’s manslaughter sentence comes with 12 years behind bars, but after time served since his arrest he could be released by Dec. 1, 2026, which would mark two thirds of his sentence.

The court was previously told Yorke sold drugs out of his Kitchener home, and Morrison, Saboon and two teens planned to steal from him.

During the trial, Justice Sloan said Morrison pointed a gun at Yorke and confined him before Saboon fired the fatal shot into his chest.

The Appeal Court noted Morrison was convicted of murder based on a finding of “objective mens rea,” which refers to criminal intent.

“At no point did the trial judge find that Mr. Morrison had subjective foresight that murder would be a probable consequence of the home invasion robbery,” said the Appeal Court’s ruling.

“I do not for a moment diminish the seriousness of his crime. A vulnerable man, living with cerebral palsy, senselessly died when attacked in his own home,” the ruling read.

The decision noted Morrison’s role in Yorke’s death wasn’t a minor one. The planning for the robbery took place at Morrison’s home and he provided the vehicle that took the robbers to the scene. Most importantly, he was once seen with a firearm.

The three-judge Appeal Court panel noted that it is the unusual confluence of mitigating factors in the case, combined with the progress Morrison has made while in custody that provided confidence that he can be released in the near future and make something of his life.

The Appeal Court noted that Morrison’s new sentence is at the “very low end of the range”.

The two teens involved in Yorke’s death pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2019 and were sentenced to three years behind bars.