The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor A former Sandy Bay woman whose infant daughter died due to a lack of appropriate medical attention has reportedly been denied a sentencing circle. Charissma DeeDee McDonald, now of Saskatoon, pleaded guilty last year to criminal negligence in the 2006 death of 17-month-old Shatoya Cheyenne Chatelaine, The StarPhoenix reports. The newspaper says her lawyer's suggestion of a sentencing circle _ where members of an offender's community recommend a punishment _ was rejected by a judge last week. McDonald, 29, is due back in court May 25, at which time the judge is expected to hear sentencing submissions from both lawyers, according to the paper. CBC reports that McDonald was born in Flin Flon and raised 190 km away on the northern Saskatchewan reserve of Sandy Bay. In Saskatoon The judge in the case said McDonald has lived in Saskatoon for at least 15 years, according to both CBC and The StarPhoenix. The newspaper says the prosecution plans to seek a three-year prison term, while the defense is expected to ask for a community-based sentence with electronic monitoring. According to the Department of Justice Canada website, sentencing circles were pioneered in the Yukon Territorial Court in the early 1990s. They are now used in much of the nation, typically at the provincial/territorial court level and in cases involving aboriginal offenders and victims. 'Sentencing circles are part of the court process, though not courts in themselves,' reads the website, 'and they can be a valuable means of getting input and advice from the community to help the judge set an appropriate and effective sentence.'
