Saskatchewan Man Who Struck, Killed Conservation Officer Appeals Sentence

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Apr, 2016 01:34 PM

REGINA — A man who struck and killed a Saskatchewan conservation officer is to have the appeal of his sentence heard on Thursday.

Blaine Taypotat was given 9 1/2 years for running down Justin Knackstedt, who had stopped to help police direct traffic after a crash near Saskatoon in May 2013.

Court documents filed by Taypotat's lawyer claim the trial judge didn't consider Taypotat's background of poverty, abuse in a residential school and struggle with alcohol.

Those factors are to be taken into account by courts when sentencing aboriginal offenders.

Taypotat's lawyer writes that the sentence imposed is "demonstrably unfit" and should be eight years.

The Crown says the judge did not make a mistake and the sentence is in keeping with jail time for similar crimes.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Flooding Prompts B.C. First Nation Community To Declare State Of Emergency

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. — A First Nations community on Vancouver Island has declared a state of emergency as rising water levels threaten to flood as many as two dozen homes.

Flooding Prompts B.C. First Nation Community To Declare State Of Emergency

Dollar Drops, Toronto Stock Exchange Plunges As Oil Plummets To Below US$38 A Barrel

The price of oil also dropped $2.25 to US$37.85 a barrel, falling to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis roiled world markets.

Dollar Drops, Toronto Stock Exchange Plunges As Oil Plummets To Below US$38 A Barrel

Critics Pan New Bill That Raises Jaywalking Fines To Nearly $700 In Nova Scotia

HALIFAX — A bill that increases the fine for jaywalking in Nova Scotia to nearly $700 is being roundly criticized by active transportation advocates and pedestrians alike.

Critics Pan New Bill That Raises Jaywalking Fines To Nearly $700 In Nova Scotia

Canada's Beef, Pork Sectors Cheer Wto Decision In Meat Labelling Dispute

OTTAWA — Canada's beef and pork sectors are welcoming a World Trade Organization ruling that allows Canada and Mexico to impose $1 billion in annual tariffs on U.S. products.

Canada's Beef, Pork Sectors Cheer Wto Decision In Meat Labelling Dispute

ISIL Are 'Rerrible Terrorists,' But Justin Trudeau Says CF-18s Will Still Come Home

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose says the extremists who have overrun vast swaths of Syria and Iraq are part of a death cult that sells women and children into sexual slavery and murders religious minorities.

ISIL Are 'Rerrible Terrorists,' But Justin Trudeau Says CF-18s Will Still Come Home

Indigenous Affairs Minister To Address Missing, Murdered Women Inquiry Tuesday

OTTAWA — Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett is set to make an announcement Tuesday on the subject of the promised inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.