Adam St. Denis-Katz’s sister Hannah says he would have wanted the man responsible for his death to be sentenced in such a way that he’d be able to contribute to his family and community.
St. Denis-Katz, who died after a fight in March 2016, was caring and forgiving, according to family.
Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Allisen Rothery took the sister’s comments into consideration when she sentenced 30-year-old Blair French to 20.6 months time served followed by three years' probation — meaning the time he spent on remand is accounted for and he’ll serve his entire sentence in the community.
“Sometimes wisdom comes to us from the most unique places,” Rothery told court.
“It is now time for Mr. French to return to his family, to raise his son and be a contributing member to our society.”
French was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old St. Denis-Katz but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in January.
The two men engaged in a consensual fight, court heard during sentencing submissions Thursday. It’s unclear how the fight started, but an agreed statement of facts states the two men exchanged punches and when St. Denis-Katz tried jumping on French, French threw him to the ground. St. Denis-Katz’s head hit the pavement and French assaulted him for a short time. French carried St. Denis-Katz inside where he was somewhat coherent and his eyes were slightly open, according to the agreed facts. He eventually lost consciousness and didn’t wake up. He died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Crown prosecutor Christy Pannell argued for a seven-year sentence and said she couldn’t find similar manslaughter cases in Saskatchewan. The typical range for manslaughter sentences is four to 12 years.
“This is certainly an outlier given the unique set of facts,” Pannel told reporters.
Defence lawyer Chris Lavier argued for the sentence French was given saying this isn’t a typical manslaughter case and French’s degree of moral blameworthiness is low.
“This fell along the spectrum of manslaughter toward the accident side as toward the near murder side and so it really was an unfortunate series of events,” Lavier said outside court.
He told court French is extremely remorseful and has already made positive changes in his life — he hasn’t drank any alcohol since the incident. Lavier said he’s a gentle, kind man.
In tearful victim impact statements, family members of St. Denis-Katz described him as sensitive, forgiving, caring and gentle. He looked at the world in a unique way, was politically and social aware and loved his son. Family said it’s difficult explaining to his son that his father is gone.
“I miss papa and I just wish papa wasn’t dead,” St. Denis-Katz’s sister recalled the boy saying.
French was visibly upset listening to the impact statements and cried during points. He apologized to the family for the incident.
“Most importantly, I’m sorry that this little boy has to grow up without a dad,” French said.
