Life is cheap

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/12/2006 (7075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Patsy Desmarais, 4; Joshua Whiskeyjack, 18; Trevor Sinclair, 25; Real Cloutier, 69.You may not recognize some, or all, of these names. But thanks to an unusually busy past week in the Winnipeg Law Courts, they will forever be linked together – at least in my mind.All four suffered a tragic and violent end to their lives.And an argument can be made that all four suffered yet another indignity when the time came to punish their killers.Want proof? Take a look.***EXHIBIT “A”Little Patsy Desmarais was just four years old when she was flung like a rag doll by her angry stepfather inside a Winnipeg hotel room, smashing her head on a wall and falling to the ground.She suffered a fatal brain injury and died.Her killer, Garnet Sinclair, first tried to cover up the crime by lying to police about what happened. Then, when he admitted what he did, he pleaded not guilty and forced a jury to render a verdict.And what does he get for all of this? 30 months behind bars.At most, when he is paroled at the stauatory two-thirds mark, he will have done a grand total of 20 months.EXHIBIT “B”Real Cloutier was a down-and-out, 69-year-old Quebec native who’d come to Manitoba several years ago and was living on the streets.He didn’t stand a chance when a drunken, strung-out man named Michael Cochrane began beating him to death, apparently just because he could.Cochrane, 19, inflicted extreme violence, then later told police and the courts he had no idea why he killed his homeless victim.His sentence? 32 months in jail, in addition to 13 months of pre-trial custody.Total sentence when given statuatory release = just short of 35 months.EXHIBIT “C”Joshua Whiskeyjack, 18, was literally running for his life from an angry mob when he tripped and fell. He was stabbed 10 times and died during the bloody June 2005 attack.The man who repeatedly stuck the knife in his back, Jedidiha Flett, gets 4 years in prison in addition to 18 months of pre-trial custody.When released at the two-thirds mark, he will have done a grand total of 50 months for the crime.His co-accused, Anthony Sinclair, will do even less for helping to chase Whiskeyjack down and inflict a series of punches and kicks. He got 3 years behind bars, in addition to 7 months of pre-trial custody.Total sentence upon statuatory release = 31 months.EXHIBIT “D”Trevor Sinclair, 25, was shot to death in Winnipeg’s inner-city by his half-brother, Norman Ducharme.He left behind a wife and three young children.Court later hears how the hours preceding the shooting were a dangerous haze of booze and drugs which eventually lead to violence.Nobody – including Ducharme – can really explain how things got so out of control that a shotgun was needed to bring about a sudden, and deadly, end to the dispute.Ducharme is sentenced to 36 months in prison, in addition to 26 months of pre-trial custody.Total sentence with early parole = 50 months.***Four victims. Five killers.Sentences – with early parole factored in – of 20 months, 31 months, 35 months, 50 months and 50 months.Of course, they will all be eligible for parole after doing just one-third of their sentences. That would mean penalties of just 10 months, 19 months, 24 months, 34 months and 38 months.Anyone else think the victims deserved better?