Review sought of sentence for teen’s death
The Gwich’in Tribal Council is calling for Canada’s federal justice minister to review the case of the youth sentenced in the death of Brandy Vittrekwa.
The Gwich’in Tribal Council is calling for Canada’s federal justice minister to review the case of the youth sentenced in the death of Brandy Vittrekwa.
In December 2014, Vittrekwa was drinking at a friend’s house with the youth, whose name cannot be published under federal law.
When they left to walk home, he beat her and left her on a walking trail in the McIntyre subdivision of Whitehorse. She was found dead the next morning.
The youth pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Norman Showshoe, vice-president of the council, said in an interview Monday the sentence imposed for the crime (two years in custody in a youth facility, followed by 12 months under community supervision) is too lenient.
Snowshoe said the council is asking for the adult penalty put forward by Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie. This could have resulted in a sentence of four to six years in an adult penitentiary.
During last Thursday’s sentencing, Judge Peter Chisolm said if he had chosen an adult sentence, the youth would have received credit for time served, likely leading to a sentence of roughly 3 1/2 years.
“Reaction from our part was one of great concern because of the lightness of the sentence,” said Snowshoe.
“We feel that it’s not a deterrent for this kind of behaviour in the future.”
When the sentence was handed down, he said, the council, based in Inuvik, N.W.T., received lots of feedback from people across the North.
“Everybody knows about this case because we are in the North and we live in small communities,” he said.
“Everyone knows each other and everyone was impacted by the incident, and everyone was impacted by the results and the light sentence.”
Snowshoe said incidents like this have happened in the past, and will continue to occur in the future unless there are proper deterrents in place.
A two-year jail term, said Snowshoe, isn’t enough.
“I don’t believe justice was served.”
The council will present a formal request to the government.
Comments (8)
Up 52 Down 2
Mark on Jun 22, 2016 at 6:34 am
There needs to be a re-trial and the judge needs to be changed and the little #&!? needs to be treated as an adult from the start.....as this looks like it may have been planned at the party and if so this kid needs to be jailed for decades not a few years.....he needs to be taught a lesson for taking a person's life!!!!!
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jc on Jun 21, 2016 at 9:36 pm
Even a 6 year sentence isn't enough. He should get a minimum 20 years.
Up 29 Down 3
Good for you!! on Jun 21, 2016 at 8:21 pm
In the media it was reported there was a history of offending. Perhaps a review goes beyond just this sentence. Review how we can help other young kids who are identified by the system as at risk or in need of care. Review from birth to murder in an effort to undercover ways to make change to avoid future victims. Media reports this young person was identified by several professionals as high risk to offend violently prior to this death. This horrible death demonstrates that there is a lot more broken that just the convicted youth. RIP Brandy- hopefully your FN will uncover areas for change.
Up 23 Down 1
John Miller on Jun 21, 2016 at 6:46 pm
Thanks for being the voice of reason.
Up 31 Down 4
Just Sayin' on Jun 21, 2016 at 6:12 pm
Devil's advocate. If the girl who was murdered was not FN, would there be a similar outcry? Would the males actions and past have justified the murder? Don't get me wrong, I think they should castrate the sh*T.
Up 46 Down 2
Jack Malone on Jun 21, 2016 at 5:25 pm
A beautiful young woman is beaten to death by a punk because she rejected his sexual advances. A punk gets a literal slap on his wrist. Of course, he gets a break because his elders went to residential school and could not teach him that smoking dope, drinking alcohol and beating women at age 15 is wrong. I only hope that this punk leaves the Yukon and never returns. The punk will meet karma soon enough.
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Finally... on Jun 21, 2016 at 4:55 pm
Glad someone is doing something about this- this POS should be off the street for a very long time. I think if your going to take a life - whether your black, white, went through hard times or not- it's time people are accountable for their actions- the sentence that was given makes me sick. Somewhere along the lines our Justice system started caring more about the defendants than the victims. Smh...
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yukon 56 on Jun 21, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Thank you Gwich’in Tribal Council