UPDATE: Judge Will Hand Down Bushby Sentence May 4th
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.
The defense indicated that Bushby shouldn’t be made as an example for future crimes and that the shorter punishment would give him a chance to rehab his life and eventually return to his fiancée and young daughter.
Both sides agreed that at the time of the offence, Mackenzie Street was a location in Thunder Bay where street level sex workers operated and frequented.
Brayden Bushby speaks
22-year-old Brayden Bushby spoke in court for the first time since learning his fate late last year.
Bushby was found guilty of Manslaughter in the 2017 death of 34-year-old Barbara Kentner after she was struck by a trailer hitch thrown by Bushby from a moving vehicle.
Bushby stressed, in his statement, that what happened that January night was his fault and his alone.
The 22-year-old expressed embarrassment and shame for his actions and understands anyone who will never accept his apology or are still angry with what transpired.
He expressed deep sympathies for Barbara’s daughter Serena and knows what he did left a family in a great deal of pain and shattered.
Bushby says he’ll carry the guilt of what happened for the rest of his life.
No Witness
Before the session started, both sides agreed to not call a witness who had volunteer experience working with sex-trade workers on the street where the act occurred. The Defense had argued the statement could be contentious or lead to evidentiary issues.
Daughter Serena
Earlier in proceedings on Wednesday, Serena’s statement indicated her mother Barbara motivated her to go to school but when the death occurred education didn’t mean that much anymore.
The daughter dropped out of school in Grade 10 and moved from Edmonton to be with her mother while her health was declining.
Serena said she gets mad when she sees others with their mother only because her mother is gone.
The once happy person has now been diagnosed as depressed by medical professionals, often using alcohol and marijuana as coping mechanisms.
Other Victim Impact Statement Submissions
- Melissa and Connie Kentner
- Cheryl Kentner
- Amanda Boucher
- Debbie Kakagemic
- Audrey Gilbeau, Executive Director of Nokiiwin Tribal Council
- Lawyer Donald Worme, on behalf of the Indigenous Bar Association and Canada National Association of Friendship Centres
