No Language, No Trial: Alberta Court Halts Sex-Crime Prosecution of Deaf Man
Charged in 2021 with eight sexual offences involving three complainants, Kendall Longclaws had no understanding of the charges, the courtroom, or the justice system itself.
Alberta’s top court has slammed the brakes on a sexual assault case, ruling that a deaf man who never acquired a language cannot constitutionally stand trial because he’s incapable of participating in his own defence.
The explosive decision leaves prosecutors with no legal path to try the case—and shines a harsh spotlight on a glaring hole in Canada’s justice system.
Most Albertans will never cross paths with Kendall Longclaws. Now in his 30s, he still lives with his parents on the isolated farm where he was raised with seven siblings, rarely leaving the property without them.
Deaf from birth, he cannot read, use a phone, understand a calendar, or communicate beyond a few gestures, grunts, the single spoken word “brother,” and writing his own name. He was never taught a language, according to the National Post.
