TORONTO - Two soldiers facing up to 15 years each in jail for manslaughter offered tearful apologies in court Wednesday for an alcohol-fuelled attack that left a homeless man twisted "like a puppet" in a Toronto park.

"I have replayed that night in my mind a million times," Cpl. Jeffrey Hall said during a tearful plea for leniency at his sentencing hearing in Ontario Superior Court.

"I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for that."

In the early hours of Aug. 31, 2005, Hall and Pte. Brian Deganis punched, stomped and kicked Paul Croutch, leaving the 59-year-old with serious brain damage, a ruptured spleen and six broken ribs. He later died in hospital.

Deganis told the court that he acted with a "disturbing disregard for others," and that his actions have brought shame upon his family and fellow soldiers.

"I will regret my actions for the rest of my life," said Deganis, who has spent more than two years and eight months in jail since being arrested in September 2005.

The soldiers were originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter earlier this month.

Crown prosecutor Hank Goody said the crime was "very near murder," and he asked for an unusually harsh sentence of between 12 and 15 years.

"Fuelled by alcohol, the attack was a joint venture from start to finish," Goody said, adding that after the "furious attack," Croutch "looked like a puppet."

Goody told the court that a paramedic found the bloodied, dying Croutch - a father and former community newspaper publisher - shaking and shivering in Moss Park.

Hall and Deganis, both 24 and members of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, have told police they were drinking heavily in the hours leading up to the beating.

The pair are expected to be sentenced later this week.

A third reservist, 25-year-old Cpl. Mountaz Ibrahim, has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after he helped the killers flee the scene.

All three defendants have also pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for attacking Valerie Valen, a Good Samaritan who tried to stop the beating.

Goody is seeking a sentence of between nine and 12 months for Ibrahim.

"They left him lying and dying as they turned their attention to Ms. Valen," Goody said, noting that the three men tripped Valen, beat her and called her derogatory names.

Valen earlier told the court that as she was being assaulted, one soldier shoved his dog tags in her face and screamed that they "owned" the park.

Court also heard that Hall and Deganis have battled alcoholism since their teens.

Hall's father Martyn told Justice Eugene Ewaschuk that alcohol was the "swirling monster" that incited his son to take part in the fatal beating.

He said his son started battling alcohol addiction at age 14, but that he has been completely sober since Croutch's killing.

As his son wiped away tears, the elder Hall pleaded for leniency, telling the court that his son is not an aggressive person.

Deganis's father Larry, a former police officer, also told the court his son has battled alcoholism, and that he knew it would one day come to a head.

"I knew something bad was going to happen, (but) not to this magnitude," he said in court. "This is terrible."

While on the stand, Deganis also spoke directly to his son just metres away in the prisoner's box, telling him that unless he quits drinking, he will not be allowed back into the family home.

"I'm sorry to say, Brian, I can't take you back," he said.