Crown seeks eight-to-12-year sentence in Brayden Bushby manslaughter case Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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DAVID JACKSON/The Canadian Press
Thunder Bay’s Crown attorney Trevor Jukes is seeking an eight-to-12-year sentence for Brayden Bushby, who was convicted of manslaughter after throwing a trailer hitch at Barbara Kentner, and says his actions were motivated by bias against women, not Indigenous people.
However, victim and community impact statements delivered in Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday said Indigenous communities and groups in Thunder Bay, as well as across the country, feel the attack was fuelled by racism in a city where First Nations people have had items thrown at them for decades.
Posted: Feb 18, 2021 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: February 18
Brayden Bushby, left, departs the courthouse with his mother after his sentencing hearing after being found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Barbara Kentner, in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021.(David Jackson/The Canadian Press)
Brayden Bushby should spend several years behind bars at a federal prison for his role in the death of Barbara Kentner of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, both Crown and defence lawyers agreed at his sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
But the decision as to how long of a sentence Bushby should receive rests with Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce, who has reserved her judgment to May 4.
Thunder Bay Courthouse-staff photo
Judge Pierce will make her decision on Brayden Bushby’s sentence on Tuesday May 4th.
The court agreed that if the COVID-19 numbers are high on or around that date, then a decision will be made as to whether to proceed with that day of sentencing or delay it further.
The crown is looking for an eight- to 12-year sentence along with a ten-year weapons ban and no communication with any of Kentner’s relatives, while the defense countered with a shorter four-year term behind bars.
Both crown lawyers suggested this was a crime based on bias, not hate, towards women rather than Indigenous people. They indicated community impact statements suggesting otherwise were based on their own experiences and aren’t related to this case.
Thunder Bay Courthouse-staff photo
Judge Pierce will make her decision on Brayden Bushby’s sentence on Tuesday May 4th.
The court agreed that if the COVID-19 numbers are high on or around that date, then a decision will be made as to whether to proceed with that day of sentencing or delay it further.
The crown is looking for an eight- to 12-year sentence along with a ten-year weapons ban and no communication with any of Kentner’s relatives, while the defense countered with a shorter four-year term behind bars.
Both crown lawyers suggested this was a crime based on bias, not hate, towards women rather than Indigenous people. They indicated community impact statements suggesting otherwise were based on their own experiences and aren’t related to this case.
Posted: Feb 17, 2021 5:00 AM ET | Last Updated: February 17
Barbara Kentner of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation died in 2017, six months after being struck by a metal trailer hitch thrown by Brayden Bushby, 22, from a moving car.(Jody Porter/CBC)
More than four years after Brayden Bushby threw a trailer hitch from a moving car, striking Barbara Kentner of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation in the abdomen while she was out for an evening walk with her sister in a residential neighbourhood in Thunder Bay, Ont., family members will have a chance to tell the court how Bushby s actions have caused harm to them and the broader community.