It was an accident, says father of 2 girls who froze to death
- Thread starter Praxius
- Start date
I'll reiterate, that he was tried. This is ONLY the sentencing. His trial found him guilty of criminal negligence causing death.
Judging Christopher Pauchay
Posted January 8th, 2009 by Tammy Robert
Source: Judging Christopher Pauchay | News Talk 980
With so much talk about whether or not a sentencing circle is appropriate in the case of Christopher Pauchay, I thought it would be prudent to share Provincial Court Judge Barry Morgan's January 7th decision. I feel the public's issue is not so much with the concept of the sentencing circle and aboriginal justice, it's with the application of a sentencing circle in a case as tragic, public, painful and emotional as this one.
The law requires Judge Morgan to follow the seven sets of criteria set out in one of the earliest cases in Saskatchewan that dealt with a sentencing circle - the Joseyounen case of 1995. This criterion is used in any case where the judge rules that a sentencing circle is appropriate. This is how Judge Morgan applied the seven:
1) The accused must agree to be referred to the sentencing circle. Pauchay's Probation Officer submitted a report confirming his willingness to participate in the circle. Pauchay also needed to plead guilty, which is considered an indication of remorse. After his first court appearance in May 2008,the dead girls' mother, Tracy Jimmy, indicated that he would be pleading 'not guilty', adding the shouldn't have to undergo a trial and sentencing at all, because he was "suffering enough". Somewhere along the line Pauchay changed his mind, because in November 2008 he entered a guilty plea. In my opininion, 'guilty' means "I did it", not "I'm sorry I did it" - regardless, the plea fulfills this criterion.
2) The accused must have deep roots in the community in which the circle is held and from the participants are drawn. 25-year old Pauchay has lived on Yellow Quill all his life, minus one year spent in Regina. The sentencing circle is meant to call on the assistance of members of the community to provide, as Morgan indicated, "input from...the community, which has also suffered, be that input positive or negative...invaluable to the sentencing process."
3) That there are elders or respected non-political community leaders willing to participate. Pauchay's PO's report states that "it is evident there is community willingness and commitment to support the sentencing circle for Mr Pauchay". His defense lawyer also submitted a list proposed participants which includes community elders and leaders. That list won't include elected Yellow Quill Chief Larry Cochrane, who has said that he hopes Pauchay isn't sent to prison.
4) The victim is willing to participate and has been subjected to no coercion or pressure in so agreeing. This one, for me, is huge, because Pauchay's victims - 3 year old Kaydance and 15-month old Santana - are dead. The only other arguable victim is Tracy Jimmy, who isn't opposed to the sentencing circle but won't attend because she would have a "difficult time". Because she's won't participate, she's suggested some "surrogate victims", or other family members, who could attend. I wonder if that will include people like Pauchay's brother-in-law, who was at Pauchay's house the night of the girls' death, saw how blind-drunk Pauchay was (nevermind that he was surrounded by knives), and asked if he should take the girls back to his place since Pauchay was alone with them. Pauchay said no, so naturally the brother-in-law...just left. Wow. There's some great judgment.
5) The court should try to determine beforehand, if the victim is subject to battered spouse syndrome. Not applicable in this case.
6) Disputed facts have been resolved in advance. I think it's fair to say we know the facts about Pauchay's actions and how they led to the death of his daughter, and Pauchay has acknowledged that he accepts them as they were presented.
7) The case is one in which a court would be willing to take a calculated risk and depart from the usual range of sentencing. Morgan indicates in his decision that "in this case...this becomes the most pertinent criterion". He goes on to lay out an analysis citing precident - I'm not a lawyer so I'm not going to try and interpret it, but having spoken to Gormley and analysing it to the best of my ability, it's fair to say that the judge felt satisfied that the offence "does not necesarily require a penitentiary term" (Morgan's words), even despite Pauchay's criminal record, which kicked off when he was 14-years old:
So, there you have it - the rationale behind Judge Barry Morgan's decision to grant Christopher Pauchay a sentencing circle. He lays his decision out clearly and argues it well, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with it.
Tammy Robert is the Executive Producer of 'The John Gormley Live Show' - listen live every weekday morning from 8.30am - 12.30pm on NewsTalk 650 or NewsTalk 980.
Posted January 8th, 2009 by Tammy Robert
Source: Judging Christopher Pauchay | News Talk 980
With so much talk about whether or not a sentencing circle is appropriate in the case of Christopher Pauchay, I thought it would be prudent to share Provincial Court Judge Barry Morgan's January 7th decision. I feel the public's issue is not so much with the concept of the sentencing circle and aboriginal justice, it's with the application of a sentencing circle in a case as tragic, public, painful and emotional as this one.
The law requires Judge Morgan to follow the seven sets of criteria set out in one of the earliest cases in Saskatchewan that dealt with a sentencing circle - the Joseyounen case of 1995. This criterion is used in any case where the judge rules that a sentencing circle is appropriate. This is how Judge Morgan applied the seven:
1) The accused must agree to be referred to the sentencing circle. Pauchay's Probation Officer submitted a report confirming his willingness to participate in the circle. Pauchay also needed to plead guilty, which is considered an indication of remorse. After his first court appearance in May 2008,the dead girls' mother, Tracy Jimmy, indicated that he would be pleading 'not guilty', adding the shouldn't have to undergo a trial and sentencing at all, because he was "suffering enough". Somewhere along the line Pauchay changed his mind, because in November 2008 he entered a guilty plea. In my opininion, 'guilty' means "I did it", not "I'm sorry I did it" - regardless, the plea fulfills this criterion.
2) The accused must have deep roots in the community in which the circle is held and from the participants are drawn. 25-year old Pauchay has lived on Yellow Quill all his life, minus one year spent in Regina. The sentencing circle is meant to call on the assistance of members of the community to provide, as Morgan indicated, "input from...the community, which has also suffered, be that input positive or negative...invaluable to the sentencing process."
3) That there are elders or respected non-political community leaders willing to participate. Pauchay's PO's report states that "it is evident there is community willingness and commitment to support the sentencing circle for Mr Pauchay". His defense lawyer also submitted a list proposed participants which includes community elders and leaders. That list won't include elected Yellow Quill Chief Larry Cochrane, who has said that he hopes Pauchay isn't sent to prison.
4) The victim is willing to participate and has been subjected to no coercion or pressure in so agreeing. This one, for me, is huge, because Pauchay's victims - 3 year old Kaydance and 15-month old Santana - are dead. The only other arguable victim is Tracy Jimmy, who isn't opposed to the sentencing circle but won't attend because she would have a "difficult time". Because she's won't participate, she's suggested some "surrogate victims", or other family members, who could attend. I wonder if that will include people like Pauchay's brother-in-law, who was at Pauchay's house the night of the girls' death, saw how blind-drunk Pauchay was (nevermind that he was surrounded by knives), and asked if he should take the girls back to his place since Pauchay was alone with them. Pauchay said no, so naturally the brother-in-law...just left. Wow. There's some great judgment.
5) The court should try to determine beforehand, if the victim is subject to battered spouse syndrome. Not applicable in this case.
6) Disputed facts have been resolved in advance. I think it's fair to say we know the facts about Pauchay's actions and how they led to the death of his daughter, and Pauchay has acknowledged that he accepts them as they were presented.
7) The case is one in which a court would be willing to take a calculated risk and depart from the usual range of sentencing. Morgan indicates in his decision that "in this case...this becomes the most pertinent criterion". He goes on to lay out an analysis citing precident - I'm not a lawyer so I'm not going to try and interpret it, but having spoken to Gormley and analysing it to the best of my ability, it's fair to say that the judge felt satisfied that the offence "does not necesarily require a penitentiary term" (Morgan's words), even despite Pauchay's criminal record, which kicked off when he was 14-years old:
- 16 convictions for failing to comply with court orders
- 10 thefts
- 8 break and enters
- 5 counts of possession of stolen property
- 4 counts of mischief
- 3 counts of failing to attend court
- 1 court each - careless use of a firearm, attempted theft, being unlawfully at large, and an assault.
So, there you have it - the rationale behind Judge Barry Morgan's decision to grant Christopher Pauchay a sentencing circle. He lays his decision out clearly and argues it well, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with it.
Tammy Robert is the Executive Producer of 'The John Gormley Live Show' - listen live every weekday morning from 8.30am - 12.30pm on NewsTalk 650 or NewsTalk 980.
Pauchay unfit for sentencing circle
By John Gormley, Special to The StarPhoenixJanuary 9, 2009
Source: Pauchay unfit for sentencing circle
Used hundreds of times in Saskatchewan since the early 1990s, sentencing circles are often helpful. But sometimes a high-profile case involving them triggers an important public debate.
And so it is with Christopher Pauchay, the young Yellow Quill First Nation father who decided, while drunk a year ago, to wander outside his home in the midst of a blizzard dragging along his small daughters, Kaydance, 3, and 16-month-old Santana, both clad only in diapers and T-shirts.
Charged after the little girls froze to death, Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence.
Sentencing circles are part of the restorative justice movement and have their roots in indigenous tribal traditions of the community coming together to resolve conflict.
There isn't much conclusive empirical research available on how many of these circles are convened in Saskatchewan or their long-term benefit in reducing an accused's likelihood of re-offending.
But anecdotally, we hear of sentencing circles that help an accused person and their community come to terms with the corrosive effects of family dysfunction and substance abuse. And it's sometimes a step toward change, progress and reconciliation.
Other times, not so.
These circles feature as many as several dozen people sitting in a circle: The accused and victim, their families, elders, police officers, local community justice officials, the judge, lawyers and experts who have had experience with the accused.
All participants are considered equals. They make the sentencing decision as a group and, according to one paper on the subject, the judge "approves the recommendation and does not devise" it.
It is important to remember the judge ultimately passes sentence and can use the sentencing circle for assistance. Its decision can be disregarded by the judge.
Strong supporters of sentencing circles and restorative justice see no room for punishment or the long-established -- though increasingly quaint -- sentencing principle of retribution.
Even reinforcing the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence by using punishment is glibly dismissed.
Punishment is often viewed as a holdover from bygone centuries where all offences were crimes against the king, hence the Crown punishes bad behaviour.
Restorative justice, on the other hand, is extolled for ignoring punishment but still reinforcing accountability while promoting healing and purging anger.
In Pauchay's case, there is plenty of anger. Provincial court Judge Barry Morgan was required by law to apply several criteria before ordering a sentencing circle.
Some of the criteria were straightforward -- the accused and elders agreeing to participate, Pauchay having roots in the community and any facts in dispute being resolved.
But two criteria were not so clear. One requires the victim be willing to participate. Obviously, the unfortunate little girls are gone.
Their mother, Pauchay's common-law wife who was fighting with him that fateful night and away drinking with friends, says she will not attend the circle but suggests so-called surrogate victims or family members.
And the most pertinent criterion -- and in this case most contentious -- requires the case to be one where "a court is willing to take a calculated risk and depart from the usual range of sentencing."
In a carefully reasoned analysis over five pages, the judge decided this criterion was met and he granted Pauchay a sentencing circle.
There are many reasons a sentencing circle could have been dispensed with.
In his entire life on the Yellow Quill First Nation, save for one year away, how much support, intervention, guidance and strength did Pauchay actually get from his community?
How much was offered? How much did he ask for? Clearly, not enough to save the lives of two vulnerable children.
And how much support will Pauchay receive in future as part of his healing?
How much insight and understanding into his crime and his underlying behaviour does Pauchay possess -- particularly when in a recent interview he refers to the deaths as "an accident" and admits that he still "struggles with alcohol."
With 51 prior convictions, including many for failing to comply with court orders, how willing is Pauchay to not just engage in a genuine dialogue but also to abide by whatever his community comes up with?
How able is Pauchay to speak to his circle frankly, honestly and with mutual respect and a plea for forgiveness and atonement for a crime so heinous?
And on forgiveness, does it mean anything that Pauchay states: "I don't believe in punishment. Forgiveness is better than anything else. Punishment doesn't do nothing."
Generally, a person who causes harm shouldn't be dictating terms. A genuine, remorseful -- and restorative -- exercise should see Pauchay asking for forgiveness and being willing to accept the results of his actions, including treatment, punishment or whatever consequences arise.
And given the consensus that sentencing circles result in sentences different from the norm, it's not surprising Pauchay expressed relief at the decision to grant him a sentencing circle, particularly when many community members have repeatedly expressed the view he's suffered enough.
And these are the same community members -- presumably to be involved in the sentencing circle -- who unsuccessfully asked the judge to close the circle to the media, preventing the public from seeing the process.
Justice done in daylight with scrutiny is a central tenet of our legal system.
Hopefully so is someone standing up for two little girls whose lives were so desperately cut short.
Gormley can be heard Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on NewsTalk 650
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
______________________________________________
By John Gormley, Special to The StarPhoenixJanuary 9, 2009
Source: Pauchay unfit for sentencing circle
Used hundreds of times in Saskatchewan since the early 1990s, sentencing circles are often helpful. But sometimes a high-profile case involving them triggers an important public debate.
And so it is with Christopher Pauchay, the young Yellow Quill First Nation father who decided, while drunk a year ago, to wander outside his home in the midst of a blizzard dragging along his small daughters, Kaydance, 3, and 16-month-old Santana, both clad only in diapers and T-shirts.
Charged after the little girls froze to death, Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence.
Sentencing circles are part of the restorative justice movement and have their roots in indigenous tribal traditions of the community coming together to resolve conflict.
There isn't much conclusive empirical research available on how many of these circles are convened in Saskatchewan or their long-term benefit in reducing an accused's likelihood of re-offending.
But anecdotally, we hear of sentencing circles that help an accused person and their community come to terms with the corrosive effects of family dysfunction and substance abuse. And it's sometimes a step toward change, progress and reconciliation.
Other times, not so.
These circles feature as many as several dozen people sitting in a circle: The accused and victim, their families, elders, police officers, local community justice officials, the judge, lawyers and experts who have had experience with the accused.
All participants are considered equals. They make the sentencing decision as a group and, according to one paper on the subject, the judge "approves the recommendation and does not devise" it.
It is important to remember the judge ultimately passes sentence and can use the sentencing circle for assistance. Its decision can be disregarded by the judge.
Strong supporters of sentencing circles and restorative justice see no room for punishment or the long-established -- though increasingly quaint -- sentencing principle of retribution.
Even reinforcing the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence by using punishment is glibly dismissed.
Punishment is often viewed as a holdover from bygone centuries where all offences were crimes against the king, hence the Crown punishes bad behaviour.
Restorative justice, on the other hand, is extolled for ignoring punishment but still reinforcing accountability while promoting healing and purging anger.
In Pauchay's case, there is plenty of anger. Provincial court Judge Barry Morgan was required by law to apply several criteria before ordering a sentencing circle.
Some of the criteria were straightforward -- the accused and elders agreeing to participate, Pauchay having roots in the community and any facts in dispute being resolved.
But two criteria were not so clear. One requires the victim be willing to participate. Obviously, the unfortunate little girls are gone.
Their mother, Pauchay's common-law wife who was fighting with him that fateful night and away drinking with friends, says she will not attend the circle but suggests so-called surrogate victims or family members.
And the most pertinent criterion -- and in this case most contentious -- requires the case to be one where "a court is willing to take a calculated risk and depart from the usual range of sentencing."
In a carefully reasoned analysis over five pages, the judge decided this criterion was met and he granted Pauchay a sentencing circle.
There are many reasons a sentencing circle could have been dispensed with.
In his entire life on the Yellow Quill First Nation, save for one year away, how much support, intervention, guidance and strength did Pauchay actually get from his community?
How much was offered? How much did he ask for? Clearly, not enough to save the lives of two vulnerable children.
And how much support will Pauchay receive in future as part of his healing?
How much insight and understanding into his crime and his underlying behaviour does Pauchay possess -- particularly when in a recent interview he refers to the deaths as "an accident" and admits that he still "struggles with alcohol."
With 51 prior convictions, including many for failing to comply with court orders, how willing is Pauchay to not just engage in a genuine dialogue but also to abide by whatever his community comes up with?
How able is Pauchay to speak to his circle frankly, honestly and with mutual respect and a plea for forgiveness and atonement for a crime so heinous?
And on forgiveness, does it mean anything that Pauchay states: "I don't believe in punishment. Forgiveness is better than anything else. Punishment doesn't do nothing."
Generally, a person who causes harm shouldn't be dictating terms. A genuine, remorseful -- and restorative -- exercise should see Pauchay asking for forgiveness and being willing to accept the results of his actions, including treatment, punishment or whatever consequences arise.
And given the consensus that sentencing circles result in sentences different from the norm, it's not surprising Pauchay expressed relief at the decision to grant him a sentencing circle, particularly when many community members have repeatedly expressed the view he's suffered enough.
And these are the same community members -- presumably to be involved in the sentencing circle -- who unsuccessfully asked the judge to close the circle to the media, preventing the public from seeing the process.
Justice done in daylight with scrutiny is a central tenet of our legal system.
Hopefully so is someone standing up for two little girls whose lives were so desperately cut short.
Gormley can be heard Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on NewsTalk 650
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
______________________________________________
I find this case so sad. I have a lot of pity for someone who grows up around alcohol abuse and poverty and god knows what other horrible things. My pity ends when their children are born. I've worked with a lot of moms who used various drugs/alcohol when pregnant. I can honestly say that what they do to their children in utero doesn't make me angry with them. I don't know why, it just doesn't. I figure no one would willingly choose to harm their unborn children, they have an addiction that they can't overcome. That makes me feel sad for them. How they treat their children once they're born is another matter. If you're too addicted to be able to look after your children, you just have to give them to someone who can. It's simple. Better to be raised in foster care or adopted out than freeze to death in the snow alone one night because your "father" was drunk. I can just imagine those children crying before they froze to death. That's enough to make this circle seem like an outrage.
Christopher Pauchay Arrested
Father of two young girls who died in Yellow Quill
Source: Christopher Pauchay Arrested | News Talk 980
NewsTalk Radio has learned Christopher Pauchay is in police custody.
Pauchay's lawyer Ron Piche has told us us Pauchay was arrested, although he won't say what for.
The RCMP say they will have more information on his arrest Wednesday.
In November Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in the freezing deaths of his two little daughters on the Yellow Quill First Nation.
Last week Pauchay was granted a sentencing circle.
In Yellowquill, people say Pauchay has been taking counseling for alcohol abuse since he was released on bail, and is receiving broad support from his community.
A date for the sentencing hearing will be set in Melfort Provincial court. January 27th.
_______________________________
Father of two young girls who died in Yellow Quill
Source: Christopher Pauchay Arrested | News Talk 980
NewsTalk Radio has learned Christopher Pauchay is in police custody.
Pauchay's lawyer Ron Piche has told us us Pauchay was arrested, although he won't say what for.
The RCMP say they will have more information on his arrest Wednesday.
In November Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in the freezing deaths of his two little daughters on the Yellow Quill First Nation.
Last week Pauchay was granted a sentencing circle.
In Yellowquill, people say Pauchay has been taking counseling for alcohol abuse since he was released on bail, and is receiving broad support from his community.
A date for the sentencing hearing will be set in Melfort Provincial court. January 27th.
_______________________________
Sask. dad of frozen toddlers re-arrested
Canwest News ServiceJanuary 14, 2009 7:00 AM
Source: Sask. dad of frozen toddlers re-arrested
SASKATOON - A Saskatchewan man whose two daughters froze to death after he drunkenly dragged them out into a frigid winter night has again been arrested by police, according to a Saskatoon radio station.
Christopher Pauchay, 24, pleaded guilty in November to criminal negligence causing death and is awaiting a hearing before a sentencing circle.
Quoting Ron Piche, Pauchay’s lawyer, NewsTalk 980 reported that Pauchay was in police custody.
RCMP could not be immediately reached for comment.
Pauchay took his three-year-old and 16-month-old daughters, who were dressed in T-shirts and diapers, into blizzard-like conditions shortly after midnight on Jan. 29, 2008. He was later found alone on a neighbour’s doorstep, eight hours before police discovered the girls had been with him. The girls were found 50 metres apart on a patch of ground between houses in a cul-de-sac on the Yellow Quill First Nation reserve. They had died of hypothermia.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
_______________________________________
Canwest News ServiceJanuary 14, 2009 7:00 AM
Source: Sask. dad of frozen toddlers re-arrested
SASKATOON - A Saskatchewan man whose two daughters froze to death after he drunkenly dragged them out into a frigid winter night has again been arrested by police, according to a Saskatoon radio station.
Christopher Pauchay, 24, pleaded guilty in November to criminal negligence causing death and is awaiting a hearing before a sentencing circle.
Quoting Ron Piche, Pauchay’s lawyer, NewsTalk 980 reported that Pauchay was in police custody.
RCMP could not be immediately reached for comment.
Pauchay took his three-year-old and 16-month-old daughters, who were dressed in T-shirts and diapers, into blizzard-like conditions shortly after midnight on Jan. 29, 2008. He was later found alone on a neighbour’s doorstep, eight hours before police discovered the girls had been with him. The girls were found 50 metres apart on a patch of ground between houses in a cul-de-sac on the Yellow Quill First Nation reserve. They had died of hypothermia.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
_______________________________________
"Judge Morgan listed three reasons that he didn't consider Pauchay's criminal record enough to hinder a sentencing circle: 1) Pauchay's offense (criminal negligence) wasn't a deliberate attempt to harm; 2) the role of addiction to alcohol and 3) Pauchay says he wants to change his life. Finally, Morgan indicates he wants the further input from the sentencing circle, a process "by which I can obtain particulars about Mr. Pauchay, and his background, that will assist (emphasis mine) me in arriving at a fit sentence". He also stresses - and this is important - that penitentiary time has not been ruled out."
I don't understand what people are getting their knickers twisted for.
I don't understand what people are getting their knickers twisted for.
So did no one miss the part in the sentancing circle where any punishment has to have consensus..including the criminal himself?
What?
The thing I find worst about alot of these "native law" cases is the blatant stupidity in assuming Native cultures would have been static in their legal and political development.
3-500 years ago our legal and political system was alot different than today, what stupid logic is it that native legal and political systems would remain static and locked in time forever. I mean, Native culture went through substantial changes over the centuries just like every culture in the world.
What?
The thing I find worst about alot of these "native law" cases is the blatant stupidity in assuming Native cultures would have been static in their legal and political development.
3-500 years ago our legal and political system was alot different than today, what stupid logic is it that native legal and political systems would remain static and locked in time forever. I mean, Native culture went through substantial changes over the centuries just like every culture in the world.
Yeah Man, this is a weird one. Most people (including myself) knew nothing
(or next to nothing) about Native Justice including Sentencing Circles, and that
is why I posted the Student Handout about Sentencing Circles.
Ultimately, a Judge has a final say....but in reality, a Judge generally will just rubber
stamp the decision of a sentencing circle. A sentencing circle may have been
appropriate for all the B&E charges and such, but for manslaughter???
The radio has just announced that this "Christopher Pauchay" has been arrested for
another two breaches of undertaking (on Dec. 8th & 14th) which, if you add those
to his previous 16 convictions for failing to comply with court orders, make the idea
of anything but enforced compliance (incarceration) questionable at best.
Zzarchov, I didn't miss the part in the sentencing circle where any punishment
has to have consensus..including the criminal himself either. With that in mind and
before a sentencing circle was decided upon, Christopher Pauchay had publicly
announced that he doesn't agree that punishment accomplishes anything, and that
he only believes in forgiveness. This goat rodeo has been very polarizing for the
population out here that are relatively local to this demonstration of Justice.
(or next to nothing) about Native Justice including Sentencing Circles, and that
is why I posted the Student Handout about Sentencing Circles.
Ultimately, a Judge has a final say....but in reality, a Judge generally will just rubber
stamp the decision of a sentencing circle. A sentencing circle may have been
appropriate for all the B&E charges and such, but for manslaughter???
The radio has just announced that this "Christopher Pauchay" has been arrested for
another two breaches of undertaking (on Dec. 8th & 14th) which, if you add those
to his previous 16 convictions for failing to comply with court orders, make the idea
of anything but enforced compliance (incarceration) questionable at best.
Zzarchov, I didn't miss the part in the sentencing circle where any punishment
has to have consensus..including the criminal himself either. With that in mind and
before a sentencing circle was decided upon, Christopher Pauchay had publicly
announced that he doesn't agree that punishment accomplishes anything, and that
he only believes in forgiveness. This goat rodeo has been very polarizing for the
population out here that are relatively local to this demonstration of Justice.
Christopher Pauchay has never publicly explained what happened last January on the Yellow Quill First Nation.
Christopher Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death
It was an accident, says father of 2 girls who froze to death
Don't elaborate, fine..... then you're full of sh*t and it wasn't an accident, it was complete drunken stupidity..... AKA: You're fault.
Double Negative so it does, and forgiveness is better then accepting punishment and consequence for your actions?
Tell that to the idiot gangs and teenage thugs around here who keep getting away with crimes who don't seem to learn from their mistakes due to lack of punishment.
Jail him..... taking your kids out in light clothing in -40 temps is plain stupid.... I don't care how damn drunk you think you are, I already know that if my oven exploded and I got a shard of the glass in my neck and I got to goto the hospital and it's cold out like the above, I still got enough brains to wear a coat.
Hell I've been pretty screwed up on some heavy stuff in my younger years and I still had the brains to protect myself and those around me.
And if he's just going to say it was an accident but not explain why, then he's full of sh*t and has yet to accept his responsibility for what he did.
I have a slight problem with that one, so is the case of a drunken busdriver who runs over a cliff killing 30 people.
Pauchay faces sentencing circle
“This is your road you’ve got to take. It’s your choice how you will walk it,"
Pauchay hears
By Betty Ann Adam, TheStarPhoenix.comFebruary 13, 2009
Source: Pauchay faces sentencing circle
ROSE VALLEY — On the night his children froze to death, an inebriated Christopher Pauchay turned down a relative’s offer to care for his daughters.
In an agreed statement of facts read at Pauchay’s sentencing circle Friday, Crown prosecutor Marylynne Beaton said some time before midnight on that tragic night, an intoxicated Pauchay walked from his home on the Yellow Quill reserve across a field to the house of his brother-in-law, Mike Kaishayineu, to ask for help.
Pauchay had separated from his wife, Tracey Jimmy, that weekend, and purchased a large volume of alcohol.
After asking Kaishayineu for help, Pauchay ran back to the house where his daughters were left alone. Kaishayineu drove to Pauchay’s house and asked the dad if he wanted him to take care of Kaydance, 15 months, and Santana, age 3.
When Pauchay said no, Beaton said, Kaishayineu told Pauchay to stop drinking and take care of his children.
At 5 a.m. on Jan. 29., 2008, Pauchay crawled to the home of Darlene Ahpay, suffering from hypothermia; the wind chill had fallen to -50 C. It wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. when searchers found Santana lying on a root between Pauchay’s and Ahpay’s houses. Kaydance was found the next morning. The toddlers were dressed only in diapers and T-shirts; both died of hypothermia.
Pauchay was semi-conscious when the neighbour found him on her doorstep. He was aggressive, so RCMP and paramedics went to the house and sedated him, transporting him to hospital with serious frostbite on his back, chest and fingers. No one realized the girls were unaccounted for until about eight hours later, when Pauchay was able to speak.
None of the community members in the sentencing circle addressed the possibility the children could have gone with Kaishayineu on that fateful night.
A sobbing Pauchay told the circle he was “in a deep emotional state” after his daughters’ deaths.
Pauchay, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of criminal negligence, faced a circle of 23 participants near the Yellow Quill reserve. Another 50 or 60 people came to observe the process.
“There isn’t a day gone by when I didn’t worry about them. I always worried about them,” he said.
“I feel so bad. I feel so guilty.”
Wearing a black T-shirt and with the fingers of his right hand in a bandage, Pauchay was leaning on his elbows and staring at the floor when facilitator Doug Gamble told him to sit up, face his circle, and explain what happened on Jan. 29.
Pauchay sat up, but could not contain his emotions at first. Gamble then asked other members of the circle to speak, giving Pauchay time to stop crying and regain control. When he composed himself, Pauchay described an incident where one of his small daughters was in the hospital with a fever, and he sat beside her all day and all night. He was also present when his second daughter took her first steps.
Tracey Jimmy, the mother of Kaydance and Santana, wailed uncontrollably, but also spoke strongly, saying she believes Pauchay is a good man. She apologized for anything hurtful she said to him in the past.
Jimmy said when she met Pauchay, she knew he would be the father of her children. She cried as she described her happiness when she found out she was pregnant with their first baby. She wept more as she said that her third child, the one she was pregnant with at the time of Kaydance and Santana’s deaths, has been taken from her. The only person who knows what she’s going through is Christopher, she added, and they are not allowed to live together.
“They took away my (main) support,” she said.
On Friday afternoon, Pauchay also said his attempts to heal were hampered when his and Jimmy’s third child, Miracle, was apprehended by social services.
The day Miracle was born was “the greatest day,” Pauchay said; Life began to return to normal.
“The day she got tooken (sic) away brought me back to that day over a year ago,” Pauchay said.
The baby was apprehended after an incident eight months ago that resulted in assault charges and a restraining order against Pauchay.
“People who tell themselves they have a big heart still have the capacity to cause more pain, more hurt,” Pauchay said of Miracle’s apprehension. “That’s all I have left. They took her away. My rights didn’t matter. She’s all that kept me together.”
Despite wishes from around the circle that the family be reunited, Judge Barry Morgan said he can’t do that — his only role is to sentence Pauchay for the crime in question.
Community elder Francis Nippi recommended to Morgan that Pauchay be assigned to serve three of the traditional pipe carriers in the community. That role is called the Oschapawis, and duties include setting up rocks in preparation for sweat lodges, filling and lighting pipes before ceremonies, and assisting elders with other tasks.
He would learn from the elders that way, Nippi said, noting that it is a lifetime role Pauchay would be filling.
Pauchay’s uncle is a leading headman in the community, and Nippi asked that Pauchay be given “that beautiful gift” to work beside his uncle.
Later, three other elders in the circle endorsed Nippi’s suggestion for Pauchay to be an Oschapawis.
Dr. Raj Hartharamini, a psychologist who has worked with the people of Yellow Quill, said the reserve has done extensive work to heal from last year’s tragedy.
Pauchay’s family began holding healing circles, and eventually, invited the rest of the community to join them.
Hartharamini and community members have devised 12 intervention strategies to help Yellow Quill move forward, including workshops to teach parenting and life skills, programs where elders mentor youth, a kids’ help phone line, alcohol-free family fun events, and others.
Several residents have already stepped forward to take the training to lead such programs, Hartharamini said.
The consensus around the circle Friday afternoon was that community members do not want Pauchay to do go jail, but serve his sentence at home instead.
The judge can accept the suggestion or impose a sentence of his own.
When Crown and defence make their sentencing arguments on Mar. 4, Pauchay’s lawyer Ron Piche said he will ask for a conditional sentence, adding that he has never seen a better plan for an offender to serve a community sentence than the one in place for his client.
Judge Morgan said he will announce Paunchay’s sentence on Mar. 6.
Pauchay was initially released on bail while his case is before the courts. He was re-arrested and returned to custody Jan. 8, 2009, when RCMP charged him with violating his bail conditions by drinking alcohol on two occasions in December and January.
Yellow Quill First Nation is about 260 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
_______________________________
I really don't know what to say, other than so far, I'm not surprised.
I'm very curious to hear Judge Morgan's decision on sentencing in
three weeks on March 6th though...
_______________________________
“This is your road you’ve got to take. It’s your choice how you will walk it,"
Pauchay hears
By Betty Ann Adam, TheStarPhoenix.comFebruary 13, 2009
Source: Pauchay faces sentencing circle
ROSE VALLEY — On the night his children froze to death, an inebriated Christopher Pauchay turned down a relative’s offer to care for his daughters.
In an agreed statement of facts read at Pauchay’s sentencing circle Friday, Crown prosecutor Marylynne Beaton said some time before midnight on that tragic night, an intoxicated Pauchay walked from his home on the Yellow Quill reserve across a field to the house of his brother-in-law, Mike Kaishayineu, to ask for help.
Pauchay had separated from his wife, Tracey Jimmy, that weekend, and purchased a large volume of alcohol.
After asking Kaishayineu for help, Pauchay ran back to the house where his daughters were left alone. Kaishayineu drove to Pauchay’s house and asked the dad if he wanted him to take care of Kaydance, 15 months, and Santana, age 3.
When Pauchay said no, Beaton said, Kaishayineu told Pauchay to stop drinking and take care of his children.
At 5 a.m. on Jan. 29., 2008, Pauchay crawled to the home of Darlene Ahpay, suffering from hypothermia; the wind chill had fallen to -50 C. It wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. when searchers found Santana lying on a root between Pauchay’s and Ahpay’s houses. Kaydance was found the next morning. The toddlers were dressed only in diapers and T-shirts; both died of hypothermia.
Pauchay was semi-conscious when the neighbour found him on her doorstep. He was aggressive, so RCMP and paramedics went to the house and sedated him, transporting him to hospital with serious frostbite on his back, chest and fingers. No one realized the girls were unaccounted for until about eight hours later, when Pauchay was able to speak.
None of the community members in the sentencing circle addressed the possibility the children could have gone with Kaishayineu on that fateful night.
A sobbing Pauchay told the circle he was “in a deep emotional state” after his daughters’ deaths.
Pauchay, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of criminal negligence, faced a circle of 23 participants near the Yellow Quill reserve. Another 50 or 60 people came to observe the process.
“There isn’t a day gone by when I didn’t worry about them. I always worried about them,” he said.
“I feel so bad. I feel so guilty.”
Wearing a black T-shirt and with the fingers of his right hand in a bandage, Pauchay was leaning on his elbows and staring at the floor when facilitator Doug Gamble told him to sit up, face his circle, and explain what happened on Jan. 29.
Pauchay sat up, but could not contain his emotions at first. Gamble then asked other members of the circle to speak, giving Pauchay time to stop crying and regain control. When he composed himself, Pauchay described an incident where one of his small daughters was in the hospital with a fever, and he sat beside her all day and all night. He was also present when his second daughter took her first steps.
Tracey Jimmy, the mother of Kaydance and Santana, wailed uncontrollably, but also spoke strongly, saying she believes Pauchay is a good man. She apologized for anything hurtful she said to him in the past.
Jimmy said when she met Pauchay, she knew he would be the father of her children. She cried as she described her happiness when she found out she was pregnant with their first baby. She wept more as she said that her third child, the one she was pregnant with at the time of Kaydance and Santana’s deaths, has been taken from her. The only person who knows what she’s going through is Christopher, she added, and they are not allowed to live together.
“They took away my (main) support,” she said.
On Friday afternoon, Pauchay also said his attempts to heal were hampered when his and Jimmy’s third child, Miracle, was apprehended by social services.
The day Miracle was born was “the greatest day,” Pauchay said; Life began to return to normal.
“The day she got tooken (sic) away brought me back to that day over a year ago,” Pauchay said.
The baby was apprehended after an incident eight months ago that resulted in assault charges and a restraining order against Pauchay.
“People who tell themselves they have a big heart still have the capacity to cause more pain, more hurt,” Pauchay said of Miracle’s apprehension. “That’s all I have left. They took her away. My rights didn’t matter. She’s all that kept me together.”
Despite wishes from around the circle that the family be reunited, Judge Barry Morgan said he can’t do that — his only role is to sentence Pauchay for the crime in question.
Community elder Francis Nippi recommended to Morgan that Pauchay be assigned to serve three of the traditional pipe carriers in the community. That role is called the Oschapawis, and duties include setting up rocks in preparation for sweat lodges, filling and lighting pipes before ceremonies, and assisting elders with other tasks.
He would learn from the elders that way, Nippi said, noting that it is a lifetime role Pauchay would be filling.
Pauchay’s uncle is a leading headman in the community, and Nippi asked that Pauchay be given “that beautiful gift” to work beside his uncle.
Later, three other elders in the circle endorsed Nippi’s suggestion for Pauchay to be an Oschapawis.
Dr. Raj Hartharamini, a psychologist who has worked with the people of Yellow Quill, said the reserve has done extensive work to heal from last year’s tragedy.
Pauchay’s family began holding healing circles, and eventually, invited the rest of the community to join them.
Hartharamini and community members have devised 12 intervention strategies to help Yellow Quill move forward, including workshops to teach parenting and life skills, programs where elders mentor youth, a kids’ help phone line, alcohol-free family fun events, and others.
Several residents have already stepped forward to take the training to lead such programs, Hartharamini said.
The consensus around the circle Friday afternoon was that community members do not want Pauchay to do go jail, but serve his sentence at home instead.
The judge can accept the suggestion or impose a sentence of his own.
When Crown and defence make their sentencing arguments on Mar. 4, Pauchay’s lawyer Ron Piche said he will ask for a conditional sentence, adding that he has never seen a better plan for an offender to serve a community sentence than the one in place for his client.
Judge Morgan said he will announce Paunchay’s sentence on Mar. 6.
Pauchay was initially released on bail while his case is before the courts. He was re-arrested and returned to custody Jan. 8, 2009, when RCMP charged him with violating his bail conditions by drinking alcohol on two occasions in December and January.
Yellow Quill First Nation is about 260 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
_______________________________
I really don't know what to say, other than so far, I'm not surprised.
I'm very curious to hear Judge Morgan's decision on sentencing in
three weeks on March 6th though...
_______________________________
Crown wants 'nothing less than penetentiary term' for Pauchay
By Lori Coolican, TheStarPhoenix.comMarch 4, 2009 3:01 PM
Crown wants 'nothing less than penetentiary term' for Pauchay
ROSE VALLEY — A conditional sentence for Christopher Pauchay would be “illegal”
and “wholly inappropriate,” the Crown prosecutor said Wednesday during final
arguments in the sentencing of the father of two toddlers who froze to death while
under his care on the Yellow Quill First Nation a year ago.
“Mr. Pauchay’s actions that night constitute child abuse . . . because he caused
their deaths,” Crown prosecutor Marylynne Beaton told Judge Barry Morgan.
“They relied on him to protect them . . . and he didn’t because of his self-induced
intoxication.”
The case that attracted nation-wide attention was the subject of an aboriginal
sentencing circle last month, when elders and community members recommended
Pauchay receive a conditional sentence to be served at home on the reserve.
A relatively new amendment to section 742 of the Criminal Code states that
conditional sentences are “not available” for serious personal injury offences,
Beaton noted. “This case falls within that definition,” she said.
The primary considerations of sentencing in cases of abuse against children under
18 — especially when the perpetrator was in a position of trust and authority over
the victim — are denunciation and deterrence, Beaton argued.
“That’s what Parliament has stated, and that is what you need to follow, your
honour,” said Beaton.
Beaton said the Crown is seeking a penitentiary term of two-and-a-half to five
years. Nothing less than a penitentiary term would satisfy the principles of
sentencing given the seriousness of the crime and Pauchay’s lengthy record, said
Beaton. Pauchay’s record includes more than 50 prior convictions.
Defense lawyer Ron Piche argued that even if Morgan agrees a conditional sentence
is impossible, he could instead impose a provincial jail term of 18 months —
reduced to 14 months with credit for time served on remand — followed by
probation of two years.
Piche noted the new amendment regarding conditional sentences has not been
widely tested as yet, leaving Morgan with few precedents for guidance.
Pauchay pleaded guilty last year to a single count of criminal negligence causing the
deaths of his daughters, 15-month-old Santana and three-year-old Kaydance.
Searchers found the girls’ bodies, nearly buried in snow drifts not far from the
family’s home, on Jan. 29 and 30, 2008.
The 25-year-old father, who has lived on the reserve most of his life, was
extremely drunk when he left the house with both girls dressed only in shirts and
diapers in the early hours of Jan. 29, when temperatures had fallen below –50 C
with the wind chill, court has heard.
A neighbour later discovered him on her doorstep, incoherent and suffering from
frostbite and hypothermia. No one knew the girls were missing until he was able to
speak about eight hours later.
Morgan said he will deliver a written decision on Pauchay’s sentence Friday
afternoon in Rose Valley.
The case includes “an abundance of mitigating factors,” including his client’s early
guilty plea, the “heartfelt” remorse he displayed at the sentencing circle, and the
“tremendous support” he has in his home community, Piche told court.
“This was, your honour, a momentary lapse of judgment,” he said.
Initially released on bail while the negligence charge was pending, Pauchay was
returned to custody about two months ago, after RCMP arrested him at a small-
town bar near the reserve. He is accused of violating his bail conditions by drinking
alcohol on two separate occasions this winter. His mother is alleged to have been
drinking with him at the bar when he was re-arrested, Beaton told court
Wednesday.
_______________________
Two more days to see how this resolves...
_______________________
By Lori Coolican, TheStarPhoenix.comMarch 4, 2009 3:01 PM
Crown wants 'nothing less than penetentiary term' for Pauchay
ROSE VALLEY — A conditional sentence for Christopher Pauchay would be “illegal”
and “wholly inappropriate,” the Crown prosecutor said Wednesday during final
arguments in the sentencing of the father of two toddlers who froze to death while
under his care on the Yellow Quill First Nation a year ago.
“Mr. Pauchay’s actions that night constitute child abuse . . . because he caused
their deaths,” Crown prosecutor Marylynne Beaton told Judge Barry Morgan.
“They relied on him to protect them . . . and he didn’t because of his self-induced
intoxication.”
The case that attracted nation-wide attention was the subject of an aboriginal
sentencing circle last month, when elders and community members recommended
Pauchay receive a conditional sentence to be served at home on the reserve.
A relatively new amendment to section 742 of the Criminal Code states that
conditional sentences are “not available” for serious personal injury offences,
Beaton noted. “This case falls within that definition,” she said.
The primary considerations of sentencing in cases of abuse against children under
18 — especially when the perpetrator was in a position of trust and authority over
the victim — are denunciation and deterrence, Beaton argued.
“That’s what Parliament has stated, and that is what you need to follow, your
honour,” said Beaton.
Beaton said the Crown is seeking a penitentiary term of two-and-a-half to five
years. Nothing less than a penitentiary term would satisfy the principles of
sentencing given the seriousness of the crime and Pauchay’s lengthy record, said
Beaton. Pauchay’s record includes more than 50 prior convictions.
Defense lawyer Ron Piche argued that even if Morgan agrees a conditional sentence
is impossible, he could instead impose a provincial jail term of 18 months —
reduced to 14 months with credit for time served on remand — followed by
probation of two years.
Piche noted the new amendment regarding conditional sentences has not been
widely tested as yet, leaving Morgan with few precedents for guidance.
Pauchay pleaded guilty last year to a single count of criminal negligence causing the
deaths of his daughters, 15-month-old Santana and three-year-old Kaydance.
Searchers found the girls’ bodies, nearly buried in snow drifts not far from the
family’s home, on Jan. 29 and 30, 2008.
The 25-year-old father, who has lived on the reserve most of his life, was
extremely drunk when he left the house with both girls dressed only in shirts and
diapers in the early hours of Jan. 29, when temperatures had fallen below –50 C
with the wind chill, court has heard.
A neighbour later discovered him on her doorstep, incoherent and suffering from
frostbite and hypothermia. No one knew the girls were missing until he was able to
speak about eight hours later.
Morgan said he will deliver a written decision on Pauchay’s sentence Friday
afternoon in Rose Valley.
The case includes “an abundance of mitigating factors,” including his client’s early
guilty plea, the “heartfelt” remorse he displayed at the sentencing circle, and the
“tremendous support” he has in his home community, Piche told court.
“This was, your honour, a momentary lapse of judgment,” he said.
Initially released on bail while the negligence charge was pending, Pauchay was
returned to custody about two months ago, after RCMP arrested him at a small-
town bar near the reserve. He is accused of violating his bail conditions by drinking
alcohol on two separate occasions this winter. His mother is alleged to have been
drinking with him at the bar when he was re-arrested, Beaton told court
Wednesday.
_______________________
Two more days to see how this resolves...
_______________________
Pauchay: "Going To Prison Won't Help Me."
Addresses judge at sentencing hearing
Reported By Murray Wood
Posted March 4, 2009 - 2:29pm
Pauchay: "Going To Prison Won't Help Me." | News Talk 980
________________________
Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me...:angryfire:
________________________
Addresses judge at sentencing hearing
Reported By Murray Wood
Posted March 4, 2009 - 2:29pm
Pauchay: "Going To Prison Won't Help Me." | News Talk 980
________________________
Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me.Me...:angryfire:
________________________
You know...if this was his first conviction...or maybe his third or
maybe his eighth or tenth....maybe some room for some leniency.
I'm really pushing it at eighth or tenth, but maybe he could be
rehabilitated.
I believe this is his fifty-sixth or fifty-eighth conviction already
though and he's now 25yrs old. What kind of break does this
guy deserve? He's already getting the "two for one" special in
this case. Two deaths and yet only one charge. Makes you
wonder which child wasn't worth counting...
maybe his eighth or tenth....maybe some room for some leniency.
I'm really pushing it at eighth or tenth, but maybe he could be
rehabilitated.
I believe this is his fifty-sixth or fifty-eighth conviction already
though and he's now 25yrs old. What kind of break does this
guy deserve? He's already getting the "two for one" special in
this case. Two deaths and yet only one charge. Makes you
wonder which child wasn't worth counting...
Yes, it's pretty hard to be sympathetic, the man's obviously an irresponsible idiot, and it wasn't an accident, it was criminal negligence causing death. I understand karrie's feelings of flip flop flip flop, but dammit, at some point you have to be responsible for your own actions, there has to be a line somewhere, and this guy's crossed it.
Dangerous offender material if you ask me. Is there even the slightest remote possibility that this guy won't hurt someone else?
That would be nice if it happened, but I honestly don't think they would do that in this case.
We will soon find out if justice will actually be served or if it gets thrown to the wolves yet again.