The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of between four and five years for a Calgary couple convicted in the death of their 14-month-old son, who didn’t see a doctor until the day before he died from an infection.
A jury found Jeromie and Jennifer Clark guilty last fall of criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Prosecutor Jennifer Crews said Friday it’s clear the Clarks loved their son John very much.
But she said they were responsible for a helpless child and that their failure to seek medical care as John grew sicker over a period of weeks was not a momentary lapse in judgement.
“They failed to act in the face of the obvious,” Crews said. “They failed in their duty. They failed John.”
Jurors saw photos of the dead boy with a red rash all over his body and with blackened toes. A forensic pathologist’s report said the boy was malnourished and died from a staph infection.
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They were also shown screen shots of online searches for natural remedies for gangrene, such as cabbage leaves and cayenne.
Crews told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Paul Jeffrey that denunciation and deterrence should be the focus of the sentence.
“It’s about preventing what happened to John from happening to another child.”
Jeffrey’s decision is expected next Wednesday.
The couple’s lawyers suggested at trial that doctors at the Alberta Children’s Hospital were to blame because they raised the boy’s sodium and fluid levels too aggressively.
David Chow, Jeromie Clark’s lawyer, said his client should serve eight months jail at the very most, but probation is also an option.
He described the Clarks as “loving parents that were misguided” and questioned what putting them behind bars would accomplish.
“There’s really no need as human beings to separate them from society,” he said, adding his client feels “acutely responsible” for his son’s death and that he and his wife have already suffered greatly.
Chow also questioned whether a stiff sentence would deter other parents from similar behaviour.
“Those people’s ears are closed to these kinds of things because they’re doing what they think is right.”
John Phillips, Jennifer Clark’s lawyer, suggested a term of three to eight months for his client, followed by an unspecified period of probation.
He said the Crown’s recommended sentence goes too far.
“This is not a case of a child being starved or abused,” he said, noting the Clarks always tried to keep their children healthy and had plenty of nutritious food in their home.
Phillips and Chow read excerpts from several letters submitted in court from friends and family, who described the Clarks as kind, quiet and humble people who are active in their church and loving parents.
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