An Alberta man has been sentenced to nine years in jail for firing a rifle at a house, striking a toddler inside.
Christopher Crane was given a six-year sentence for the aggravated assault on young Asia Saddleback in April 2008.
He was also given six years for a previous crime of armed robbery; his sentence was reduced to represent the time he had already spent in custody.
The toddler, now three-years-old, still has a bullet between her liver and spine.
Court has heard that Crane began doing drugs before he was even a teenager, dropped out in Grade 7 and was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana the day he fired his rifle at the house.
Last year, a second teen in the car at the time of the shooting was found guilty of aggravated assault and weapons-related charges.
I think we need to focus on the fact that the offender has a low level of education, which correlates with criminal activity, and had been intoxicated and under the influence at the time. I think that instead of sending him to prison for 6 years, he should have been sentenced for 2 years less a day along with probation, in order to address his education and alcohol/drug problems. This is what can change people in the long term, not prison.
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