Manslaughter
R. v. Sanford
- Below the Crown's ask
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
A jury acquitted James Dylan Sanford of second degree murder but convicted him of manslaughter for fatally stabbing a man in Kamloops in 2020, after weeks of threats and violence by the victim toward him and his girlfriend. The Crown sought six to eight years' imprisonment; the defence sought two years less a day followed by probation. Justice Donegan imposed four years, finding his moral responsibility moderately high though attenuated by elements of self-defence and provocation, and credited 321 days of pre-sentence custody.
In the judge's words
1[114] In all of these circumstances, I find Mr. Sanford's unlawful act does not fall on the "near accident" end of the spectrum, nor does it fall on the "near murder" end. Rather, it falls somewhere in between. [115] Taking all of this into account, I find Mr. Sanford's moral responsibility, although attenuated to a degree as I have described, remains moderately high.
The record
- Convicted of
- Manslaughter (CC 236)
- Prior convictions
- 2 prior convictions1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 2 years less a day in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: A. Buchanan, D. Heighes
Defence: J. Michi, J. Killoran
Sources
- R. v. Sanford, 2023 BCSC 1956 Court decision, CanLII, November 7, 2023
[2] The Crown seeks a sentence in the range of six to eight years imprisonment.
[2] … The defence seeks a sentence of two years less a day imprisonment followed by a three year probationary period.
[57] The seriousness with which Parliament views the offence of manslaughter is reflected by the maximum penalty of life imprisonment set out in the Code. As this offence carries no minimum sentence, the range of available sentences is very broad.
[1] James Sanford was charged with second degree murder in relation to the death of … On January 26, 2023, a jury convicted him of the lesser and included offence of manslaughter.
[45] Mr. Sanford had no criminal record at the time of this offence, but he was before the court in relation to two 2018 drug trafficking allegations. On June 10, 2022, Mr. Sanford pled guilty to those offences and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, to be served in the community, followed by 18 months probation.
[114] In all of these circumstances, I find Mr. Sanford's unlawful act does not fall on the "near accident" end of the spectrum, nor does it fall on the "near murder" end. Rather, it falls somewhere in between. [115] Taking all of this into account, I find Mr. Sanford's moral responsibility, although attenuated to a degree as I have described, remains moderately high.
[121] … I find a proportionate sentence in this case is four years' imprisonment. [122] From this, I give you credit for a total of 214 days in pre-sentence custody at rate of 1.5 to 1 or 321 days. As four years is the equivalent of 1,460 days, I sentence you to 1,139 days new time.
- R. v. Sanford, 2023 BCSC 1956 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia