CALGARY –A Stoney Nakoda woman is heading to the Okimaw Ochi Healing Lodge in Saskatchewan after a Calgary judge handed down a two-year sentence on June 28 related to the 2016 death of Brennon Riley Twoyoungmen.
Vanessa Poucette, 48, was found guilty of manslaughter in February for the death of her common-law partner Twoyoungmen, 42, after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Gates said “self-defence is not available” for the fatal stabbing incident.
During the trial it was revealed Poucette stabbed Twoyoungmen in the chest and did call 911 when he was still alive and conscious but due to confusion of the address, located on the Nation that spans more than 58 square kilometres, it took emergency responders almost an hour to arrive at the house.
Twoyoungmen died from his injuries by the time paramedics arrived.
Poucette was arrested and originally charged with second-degree murder in October 2016 after Cochrane RCMP responded to the scene.
The charge was then reduced to manslaughter and went before a judge-only trial.
Poucette spent three months in custody before bail and an additional 29 months under house arrest, which helped reduce her sentence to two years. Poucette will also have an additional three years of probation with required counselling.
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner explained there was prior abuse in the common-law home and while Poucette didn’t quite meet the “standard of self-defence” that her criminal record was minimal.
Prior to sentencing a Gladue report was ordered, which is a type of pre-sentencing and bail hearing report that takes the offenders Aboriginal background into consideration.
“She is the perfect candidate for the healing lodge,” Hepner said.
Different from a typical federal prison, the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, located 150 kilometres away from Medicine Hat, is designed to house incarcerated Indigenous women with a focus on healing.
Guided by a vision designed by elders, the lodge is based on five principals including empowerment, meaningful and responsible choice, respect and dignity, support environment and shared responsibility, according to the Correctional Service Canada website.
Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge officials give offenders a personal life plan created specifically for them and the programs are designed to help offenders “build the strength they need to make essential changes in their lives.”
