Workplace Death Should Not be Prosecuted

Andrew James was 15 when hes wa killed in a workplace accident, get that? Accident. If he was 17 it would have been the same, if he was 50 it would have been the same.

Andrew was shoveling asphalt from a raised trailer box into a back-hoe scoop when the trailer tailgate gave way, Crown attorney Sean Brennan told court. Andrew lost his balance, fell into the trailer and was immediately buried under tons of sliding asphalt.

The tailgate gave way; that is due to lack of experience or lack of skill, it couldn't have been anticipated.

His parents understand this and don't want the business owned charged.

"This is not something that Andrew would have wanted," his mother Roberta James told court. "Gerald was like a second dad. We all miss (Andrew) terribly, but it was a tragedy."

Andrew's parents have vowed to help Shepell pay whatever fines the court imposes.

"From the time I met (Shepell), the way he mentored my son, it was incredible," said father Rick James, who continues to work with Shepell on a casual basis.

James said Shepell shouldn't be punished for breaking regulations that are often ignored as impractical in the work world.

His parents get it, but in the government paradigm there is no room for reason for compassion, it is a black and white one size fits all world.

Leave this man alone, leave his business alone, he has already suffered, and any fine he would be forced to pay goes to the government, not to any injured party.