Halifax father jailed 4-years for mistakenly killing his own son

A Halifax man has been sentenced to four years in jail for mistakenly shooting and killing his own son.

Michael Dockrill was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death last year by a jury of his peers. Due to the fact a firearm was used, there was a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.

Dockrill and his lawyer, Brian Church, challenged the constitution in court, arguing that sending Dockrill to jail for four years was cruel and unusual punishment.

READ: ‘Prison of grief’: Michael Dockrill to be sentenced next year for mistakenly killing son

In the end, Justice Josh Arnold dismissed Dockrill’s constitutional challenge and sent him to prison for four years.

“I truly feel terrible for you,” Justice Arnold told Dockrill when rendering his decision.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I truly feel terrible for you," Justice Arnold told Dockrill when rendering his decision.

The crown was looking for a prison sentence of five to seven years, but was content with the judge’s decision. Justice Arnold said while he was sympathetic to the Dockrill’s personal circumstances, the mandatory minimum sentence in this case was not grossly disproportionate.

Dockrill shot son during home invasion

Two masked men broke into the Dockrill home in June of 2011, in what’s been described as an attempted drug rip. During an altercation, Michael Dockrill shot his 20-year-old son, Jason, instead of the intruder.

“We’re seeing more and more of it,” said Crown Attorney Rick Woodburn. “We see these what they call drug rip-offs. We have armed individuals inside, armed individuals outside. It’s causing mayhem in our streets.”

“People are dying over it. People are being injured over it and innocent people are going to die over it,” said Woodbrun.

The court heard that Dockrill armed himself and fired a shot without checking to see who he was shooting.

“It’s not an accident,” said Woodburn.

“People keep referring to this as he accidently killed his son. He meant to kill a home invader and in turn killed his son. It’s tragic, it’s terrible. He’s already said it himself, he’s going to have life sentence.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "People keep referring to this as he accidently killed his son. He meant to kill a home invader and in turn killed his son. It's tragic, it's terrible. He's already said it himself, he's going to have life sentence."

Dockrill’s lawyer had no comment following the sentencing. His family did also not wish to speak to media.