Lawyer: Dad convicted of slashing 11-month-old son with butcher knife should have 5-year sentence reduced (Calgary, Canada)

Let me see if I have this straight. UNNAMED DAD got all pissy because he convinced himself--falsely--that Mom was cheating on him. So he slashes his infant son with a butcher knife and almost killed him. Not only that, but he blocked rescue personnel from reaching the baby. And only whined to 911 about himself--couldn't even pretend to have remorse for what he did. This, ladies and gentleman, is an @$$. And daddy coddling to the nth degree. 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Calgary+father+slashed+baby+stomach+seeks/8256582/story.html

Calgary father who slashed baby seeks reduced prison term

BY DARYL SLADE, CALGARY HERALD APRIL 17, 2013 6:28 PM

A father who slashed his baby’s abdomen and neck with a butcher knife should have his five-year prison sentence reduced, his lawyer argued Wednesday at the Alberta Court of Appeal.

Alain Hepner told the province’s top court that the use of a knife should not elevate his client’s sentence by 1.5 years over a precedent case in which a young father got 3.5 years for immersing his baby daughter’s feet in scalding water.

“I ask that the court reduce the sentence to three and a half or even four years,” Hepner told justices Jack Watson, Jean Cote and Brian O’Ferrall. “He was going through a litany of psychological problems at the time.

“When police came, he made the comment: please shoot me . . . he had cycled downward leading up to that day, losing his wife and his income.”

Cote told Hepner, however, that his client had called 911 and as the boy was bleeding all he talked about was himself and his wife.

“He never had a moment when he said, ‘What have I done?’ It sounded for a while like he wanted the baby to die.”

Crown prosecutor Jolaine Antonio argued for the sentence to be upheld, saying risk of death and full intention were key factors.

“This was about (the offender) wanting the two of them to die together. There was full awareness and likelihood of death . . . he thought about it. There were an entire pattern of steps taken. (The offender) denied the child needed help when asked.”

Antonio also noted the 33-year-old man became involved in a standoff at his door when police came, preventing them from gaining access to the 11-month-old child, who lost more than one-quarter of his blood.

Provincial court Judge Mike Dinkel, in sentencing the man last year, said his remorse did not outweigh the “rage, jealousy and rejection” over his failed relationship with the boy’s mother that was behind the crime.

“I can only conclude the accused chose to act on his jealousy,” provincial court Judge Michael Dinkel said. “The accused used the attack on the child to inflict harm on the mother.”

The offender, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victim, was originally charged with attempted murder, but pleaded guilty to aggravated assault last December.

The man was home alone with the baby on Aug. 13, 2011, when he became increasingly angry and despondent in the mistaken belief the boy’s mother had been cheating on him. The man, who was drinking, used the large knife to slash his son twice.

The boy’s injuries were initially life-threatening, but his condition later improved and he is expected to fully recover.

Dinkel noted the boy lost 25 per cent of his blood and the man must have known he was endangering his son’s life.

The man, who came to Canada from South Sudan eight years ago, has significant support from members of the country’s expatriate community who have pledged to help his rehabilitation.

Crown prosecutor Margot Engley had sought a six-to seven-year prison term.

The appellate court reserved its decision.