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“I wanted to apologize, even though I know it wouldn’t make anything better. And if I had the opportunity to apologize to Mr. Lee, I would,” said the girl, crying as she stood before Justice Philip Campbell in a second-floor courtroom.

The girl was previously found guilty of manslaughter, with Campbell ruling she had stabbed Lee, non-fatally, with a pair of small scissors. At the beginning of her trial, the girl attempted to plead guilty to manslaughter but it was rejected by the Crown in favour of prosecuting her for second-degree murder. At trial, the Crown unsuccessfully accused her of being responsible for dealing the fatal blow to Lee.

Also apologizing to Lee’s family and friends, the girl reflected on her youth at the time — she was 14 in December 2022 when she and seven others attacked Lee in a downtown parkette. She said she did not consider the consequences of drinking, smoking weed and participating in the assault.

“Since then I’ve been focused on changing for the better,� the girl read from a prepared statement, “I know I’m on the right path now.�

As she concluded, she said: “I’ve also been grateful for the chance to prove I’m not taking my freedom for granted.�

After hearing from one of the girl’s defence lawyers Wednesday, the Crown said it had reassessed the credit the girl was owed for the 240 days she’d already spent in pre-trial custody, as well as being subjected to unconstitutional strip searching while in detention. Crown attorney Sarah De Filippis said any custodial sentence that was warranted had already been served. She argued instead for 16 months probation and a lengthier minimum participation in the support program.

De Filippis said the girl should be commended for taking initiative to seek out supports after she was released on bail in August 2023, saying she is a strong case for rehabilitation — the primary purpose when sentencing young people under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

She reflected on the level of scrutiny placed on her and this prosecution, noting even a “Law and Order: ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½” episode was based on some of the facts in this case. The girl, she said, dealt with it “admirably.”

Defence counsel Kathryn Doyle told the court that any additional time in jail would prevent the girl from attending her new high school in the fall to complete Grade 12 and several community programs she actively participates in.

Doyle told the court about the “remarkable progress” the girl had made in accepting responsibility, addressing the underlying issues that led to her criminal behaviour and finding herself one semester away from being able to graduate high school. She referenced a psychological assessment filed with the court that documented that turnaround.

Earlier in the hearing, the court heard how the girl came to have two small pairs of scissors when she was arrested shortly after the swarming. One of the assessments referred to her and some of the other girls shoplifting at a Shoppers Drug Mart where she stole popsicles and an eyebrow grooming kit containing a pair of scissors.

Later, during the attack, cellphone video showed the girl bending to pick up a pair of scissors during one of the waves of assault on Lee. Doyle said it would be reasonable to infer some of the other girls had also stolen eyebrow kits and that the girl picked up an additional pair of scissors.

At some point during the attack, Lee was fatally stabbed in the heart — something even he did not realize until he was more thoroughly examined by paramedics flagged down to the parkette. He died in hospital shortly after.

Campbell earlier found the girl had wielded one of the two pairs of scissors she was arrested with and stabbed Lee with them, but that she did not deal the fatal blow.

Much was made at the girl’s trial about whether the pair of scissors or a knife — one was earlier seen in the hands of her companions on the subway system’s surveillance footage — was capable of killing Lee. A knife was never recovered. None of the girls were found guilty of fatally stabbing him.

All eight girls were originally charged with second-degree murder, but none were convicted of that offence. Six of the eight girls were ultimately guilty of manslaughter and two to lesser assault charges.

The judge will make a sentencing decision in the girl’s case on Friday.