THUNDER BAY — A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man to death in 2022 will spend another five-and-a-half years behind bars, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Isaac Talbot-Hall, now 30, was sentenced for killing Shawn Newsome at Andras Court on Cumberland Street in September, 2022. Talbot-Hall was initially charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded down to manslaughter earlier in 2025.
During a virtual sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon, Justice Helen Pierce sentenced Talbot-Hall to 10 years in jail. He was, however, given credit for 1,400 days in pre-trial custody (in actuality, he was incarcerated for just over 900 days, but was given an enhanced credit). On top of that, he was given six months additional credit for the harsh conditions he was in when in custody at jails in Thunder Bay and Penetanguishene in southern Ontario, largely before being convicted of a crime.
Those conditions included frequent and extended lockdowns and overcrowding in cells.
Talbot-Hall appeared by video from the Thunder Bay District Jail on Wednesday.
“He was subject to harsh conditions” in pre-trial custody, Pierce said, adding that the state has the obligation to humanely house prisoners both before and after conviction. “The state failed Mr. Talbot-Hall,” she said.
The prosecution was seeking a sentence of 10 years, with the lawyers defending Talbot-Hall advocating for something in the five to six year range. Additionally, the defence was seeking for his sentence to be reduced by two years for the pre-trial custody conditions, while the Crown said up to one year of mitigation was appropriate.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented earlier in the court process, a woman was in her apartment in Andras Court with a friend when Newsome, the woman’s boyfriend, arrived around 12:30 a.m., brandishing a knife and making physically and sexually violent threats.
The women left and went to another apartment where they asked Talbot-Hall for help.
Talbot-Hall knew that one of the women — Newsome’s girlfriend — was “victimized violently” throughout their relationship. Talbot-Hall, who had a knife, then went downstairs with the two women, and was immediately confronted by Newsome.
After a violent struggle, Newsome was stabbed seven times in various parts of his body over the course of 25 seconds, court heard. He died later that day in hospital.
Talbot-Hall then went back upstairs, packed his bag and left with his girlfriend. He was arrested by police on Nov. 8, 2022.
In sentencing Talbot-Hall, Pierce said that the whole encounter was avoidable, as the women were safe in the apartment Talbot-Hall was in, and they could have all sheltered in place and called police. If Talbot-Hall wanted to avoid dealing with police himself, he also had the opportunity to leave prior to their arrival, the judge said.
“Unfortunately, he did not take the time to consider these options,” Pierce said, adding that “violence was not inevitable.”
Talbot-Hall further exacerbated the situation by arming himself and confronting Newsome, she said, which “set the stage for a confrontation.” The method of violence, she added — seven stabs over 25 seconds — “suggests rage.”
He also didn’t call for medical attention after the stabbing, fled the scene, discarded the weapon and remained at large for almost another month and a half, Pierce said.
When arguing for the 10-year sentence, the Crown argued that Talbot-Hall’s actions were, on the spectrum of manslaughter offences, closer to murder than an accidental killing. The judge agreed, noting that his “moral blameworthiness” was “very high.”
Aside from the pre-trial custody considerations, Pierce also took into account a multitude of difficult circumstances Talbot-Hall faced growing up and into his young adulthood, including facing racism as a Black and Indigenous man.
She also credited Talbot-Hall with pleading guilty rather than going to trial — saving Newsome’s family the grief of that process — as well as working to complete credits toward his high school diploma while incarcerated, the apology Talbot-Hall gave to Newsome’s family during court proceedings (which she said she believed showed his remorse) and that he’s a younger man with no previous criminal history.
On top of the prison sentence, Talbot-Hall also received a lifetime weapons ban, he cannot contact the two women present on the night of the stabbing and must submit a DNA sample to the national database.
