N.W.T. manslaughter sentence met with outrage

A Northwest Territories MLA says convicted criminals in the North aren't serving enough time behind bars, including an Inuvik, N.W.T., man who was sentenced to less than five years in jail for beating another man to death.

Claude Harry, 37, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday in connection with the death of Angus Kikoak, 45, at a party in a hotel room in Inuvik in December 2009.

Harry was originally charged with second-degree murder in the attack, which was described in court as completely unprovoked.

Court heard that Harry punched Kikoak six times in the face, and the assault was so violent that it ruptured an artery and caused bleeding of the brain.

N.W.T. Supreme Court Deputy Justice Rene Foisy said in court that the attack was senseless, but added that Harry's guilty plea was a mitigating factor in sentencing.

Received double credit

Harry was sentenced to a total of five years in jail, but Foisy allowed him to receive double credit for the one year he has served in custody.

As a result, Harry has three years left in his sentence, and he will be eligible for day parole in 14 months.

Kikoak's family walked out of the Inuvik courtroom in tears after Monday's sentencing.

Meanwhile, at the N.W.T. legislature in Yellowknife, Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay objected to what he said was a light sentence.

"What message does this send to the victims … and to their families? Certainly we know the message that light sentences have on offenders, especially if they're not thoroughly rehabilitated," Ramsay said in the legislature Tuesday.

"They will get out, and sadly … most of them will reoffend."

19 past assault convictions

Court records show Harry has been sentenced 19 times for assault since the 1990s, including three cases of assault against his wife.

Assaults form the majority of his criminal record, though he has also been convicted on seven other occasions for offences related to drugs, theft, vehicle infractions and breaking-and-entering.

Most of Harry's jail sentences have been for less than four months in territorial jail. Four of the sentences were for one year or more.

In August 2002, Harry was convicted of assault causing bodily harm for attacking his wife while she was asleep. He told the court he didn't remember biting his wife's nose with enough force to disfigure her. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail.

During that trial in 2002, Judge R.M. Bourassa declared that Harry was "unable to control himself, control his drinking, and now has reached the point of depravity of biting flesh from a person's nose. One wonders how depraved a person can become."

"I can well understand some people looking at this and saying or considering locking away the man and throwing away the key," Bourassa added.

"He is dangerous. His conduct over the past years has shown a habit of drug and alcohol abuse and acts of violence."

Not unusual sentence: lawyer

At Harry's latest court appearance on Monday, Foisy said he was legally obligated to accept the terms of a joint submission made by the Crown and defence, requesting between 3½ and six years in jail.

Defence lawyer Steven J. Fix told CBC News that the sentence handed to Harry is not unusual in the Northwest Territories.

"Sentence ranges are set by Parliament and then by court precedent. That was the range for similar types of crime in this jurisdiction," Fix said outside court.

Despite the repeated crimes Harry has committed in the past, Fix claimed his client will retire to a cabin and live peacefully after he is released from jail.

Fix said the beating death of Kikoak was "mostly fuelled by alcohol — something that Mr. Harry is intent on dealing with, and I'm sure he will."