Convicted Yukon killers get lighter sentences
Decision comes after sentenced changed from murder to manslaughter
CBC News
Posted: Feb 15, 2012 8:27 PM CST
Last Updated: Feb 15, 2012 9:49 PM CST
Two men convicted of manslaughter were sentenced in Whitehorse Wednesday.
Dean Boucher and Mark Lange were originally convicted and sentenced for murder in the 2004 death of hotel owner Bob Olson.
Last May, the Yukon Court of Appeal ruled there were problems with their original trial, and decided that Lange and Boucher should get another.
Instead, both men made separate deals with Crown prosecutors to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Dean Boucher, who admits taking the lead role in killing Olsen and dumping his body in a ditch, is going back to a federal penitentiary. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail. After credit for time served, he will be out of jail in less than three years.
Mark Lange, who played a lesser role in the killing, will be released by this summer. He will spend the rest of his sentence at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre. He will be on probation for 15 months following his time served.
Boucher had originally been sentenced to life in jail with no chance of parole for 15 years. Lange was eligible for parole after 10 years.
Supreme court justice Ron Veale said both men have made remarkable efforts to turn their lives around. He said a psychiatrist now rates both men as at a low to moderate risk to re-offend.
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