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Home Canada Indigenous Man Handed 2 Years’ House Arrest in Crash That Killed Young Girl After Judge Considers ‘Colonization’

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Indigenous Man Handed 2 Years’ House Arrest in Crash That Killed Young Girl After Judge Considers ‘Colonization’

Jennifer CowanUpdated 4 hours Ago2 Mins read0 Views

The Ontario Courthouse in Toronto is shown on May 2, 2022. The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov

An indigenous southern Ontario man has received two years of house arrest for a head-on crash in 2022 that killed 12-year-old Sierra Beverly after the judge considered factors related to the “colonization” of his community as part of the sentencing.

Ontario Court of Justice judge Gethin Edward sentenced 31-year-old Darris James Wilson to two years of house arrest under the supervision of a GPS ankle bracelet.

Wilson pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in connection with the Feb. 11, 2022, collision that killed Sierra and seriously injured her mother, Naomi Beverly, who continues to require care.

Witnesses reported seeing Wilson’s Dodge Ram travelling at a high speed and leaving its lane before it collided with the Beverlys’ Mitsubishi sub-compact, according to local media reports of the Brantford court’s proceedings. The reports said there was no indication the truck attempted to brake before the collision. Beverly was driving her daughter to a sleepover in Tillsonburg at the time.

Police were told Wilson had been drinking, and officers found open and unopened beer cans in and around the driver’s seat. However, officers at the scene reported that they did not observe signs of impairment and did not detect an odour of alcohol on Wilson’s breath.

Sierra was killed and Naomi Beverly sustained multiple fractures and other serious injuries, ultimately leading to her placement in an acquired brain injury unit. She continues to require round-the-clock care.

The judge acknowledged the Crown attorney’s request for a four-year prison term in his written decision, but said incarceration would not address the over-representation of indigenous people in Canadian prisons, which he described as a byproduct of the country’s “colonial past.”

Considering ‘Colonization’

The judge said he considered how the colonization of Six Nations of the Grand River contributed to a “major disconnection” from Wilson’s culture, which he said subsequently contributed to his “over-consumption of alcohol and unhealthy relationships.”

He also considered Wilson’s guilty plea and his efforts since the crash to engage in cultural teachings and traditional practices, and spend time in nature.

“Mr. Wilson’s efforts to regain his culture, that which was taken from him and his family in a systematic fashion by the Government of Canada, will once again be taken by the state if the court imposes a four-year penitentiary sentence,” Edward said. “I’m left with this simple refrain: ‘If not now, when. If not this case, what case?’ To which I simply reply: Now, and this case.”

Wilson will serve his sentence at a home in the village of Scotland in Brant County. He can leave for work or school, church, and medical appointments, but is prohibited from driving, consuming alcohol or taking non-prescription drugs.

Beverly and her husband, Larry Demelo, said in a statement provided to the media that they were “deeply disappointed” by the decision and considered the two-year house-arrest sentence “inadequate” given Sierra’s death and Beverly’s ongoing health needs, which they said are not adequately covered by insurance.

The judge’s ruling considered Gladue factors, which require courts to take into account the circumstances of indigenous offenders and the systemic and background factors that may have contributed to their involvement in the criminal justice system.

Edward said these factors “crystallized into the tragic events of Feb. 11, 2022,” emphasizing that considering such connections is part of what the criminal justice system is seeking to address.