Kangiqsualujjuaq woman gets conditional sentence

Jessie Mary Annanack, 26, will serve her sentence for manslaughter at home in Kangiqsualujjuaq, a Quebec Superior Court judge determined last month.

Annanack was recently found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Robert Legault in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Legault died on March 16, 2002 at the community’s health clinic due to loss of blood from a single stab wound to his leg.

The Crown prosecutor and the defence lawyer made a common submission to Superior Court Judge Claude Bigue for a sentence of five years.

However, Legault’s mother told the judge that no sentence would bring her son back to life. She said she would prefer Annanack to be released.

The Crown prosecutor looked at past judgments in similar cases, and found the sentences for manslaughter varied between two and a half years of jail in the community to eight years of jail.

Judge Bigue took a day to reflect before he passed sentence, considering the mother’s testimony and circumstances around the case. He concluded that a 24-month sentence, minus one day of jail, would be served in the community of Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Annanack has a severe set of conditions to meet, including house arrest, with no permission to leave the premises of her home, except for work or medical reasons.