Courtney Gets 10 Years For Killing Baby Girl
Monday, December 14, 2009 at 16:24
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for the beating death of his infant daughter.
Justin James Courtney sat quietly in the prisoner’s box
as Justice Ian McLellan of the Regina Court of Queen’s Bench handed down the sentence this afternoon.
The death of Courtney’s daughter, 10-month-old Kiona Rain Jenaya Oakes, occurred on the Carry the Kettle First Nation two years ago.
Courtney pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week, after originally being charged with second degree murder.
Calling the child’s death “deplorable”, McLellan told the court that Courtney demonstrated a lack of remorse and blamed others, both which contributed to the lengthy sentence.
In a statement outside the courthouse, Courtney’s mother, Bonnie Courtney, said the trial did not consider all the circumstances.
“It was explained to him (Courtney) that there is a fine line to criminal negligence causing death and manslaughter. So with his lawyer’s advice, he opted the latter. In regards to the investigation, we the family strongly believe it was biased from the start, that they missed too many facts, and that the focus was taken away from other parties involved,” she said.
Courtney’s family maintains he is innocent.
However, Crown prosecutor Mitch Crumley says all factors were considered in the sentencing.
“There was a number of facts that went into the judge’s consideration — first of all the nature of the offense, the background of the offender, the lack of remorse. Those were the kinds of facts that the court highlighted in its decision today. I thought that the judge considered all of the facts very, very carefully in coming to his decision. I don’t think there was any surprise in terms of his consideration of those factors,” Crumley says.
Courtney is expected to serve an additional five years in jail, because he has already spent two years in remand, for which he gets double credit.