Six Mohawk activists were given probationary sentences for their convictions stemming from blockades on Highway 2 near Deseronto two years ago.
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory residents Steven Chartrand, Jerome Barnhart, Curtis Fox, Jason Maracle, Dan Doreen and Kathy Baptiste were sentenced in Napanee provincial court by Justice Geoff Griffin.
Two other accused, Clint Brant and Matthew Kunkel, are to appear before Griffin Oct. 12 for sentencing on their convictions related to the same protests. The Crown was recommending jail time of three to six months for Chartrand, Barnhart and Maracle for leading the disturbance, which saw the town of Deseronto blockaded for hours and dozens of OPP officers bracing for confrontations at the stand-off over a dispute on land slated for housing development and the occupation of a quarry in Deseronto in April, 2008.
Last week, at a lengthy hearing during which the issue of jail time for natives was presented in detail by lawyers for the accused and by the accused themselves, the Crown asked that Doreen, who was not only convicted of mischief, but was also found guilty of assault stemming from his attempt to resist arrest, should serve three to six months in custody.
The Crown is seeking six months in custody for Brant, also found guilty by Griffin of obstructing a peace officer and dangerous operation of a vehicle.
Kunkel was found guilty of possession of a weapon (brass knuckles), unauthorized possession of a weapon, assault with a weapon, and assault causing bodily harm. The Crown is seeking a jail term for him, as well.
Last week's day-long sentencing hearing heard lengthy presentations on the principal known as Gladue -- a term drawn from a Supreme Court case that is related to attempting to lessen the "over-representation" of native people in jail across Canada.
Section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada in\ n _blankR. v. Gladue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 have stated that judges should account for these considerations when making sentencing decisions. Gladue asks judges to apply a method of analysis that recognizes the adverse background cultural impact factors that many Aboriginals face. In a Gladue analysis these factors, if present in their personal history, work to mitigate or reduce the culpability of offenders. Judges are then asked to consider all reasonable alternatives to jail in light of this. Such an analysis is designed to to lead to a "restorative justice remedy" being used either in place of a jail sentence or combined with a reduced term.