A Saskatchewan judge handed down three-year prison sentences Friday for Curtis Vey and Angela Nicholson, lovers who were convicted of plotting to murder their spouses.

Vey, 52, and Nicholson, 51, are both banned from owning firearms. The judge also ordered them to submit DNA samples and pay a $400 victim surcharge.

"Why good people do bad things is a mystery to us all," said Justice Martel Popescul in Court of Queen's Bench in Prince Albert.

In June, a jury deliberated for close to 30 hours before convicting Vey and Nicholson of two counts of conspiracy to commit murder — one charge for their own spouse and a separate count for each other's spouse.

Outside the courtroom Friday, Crown prosecutor Lori O'Connor said she sought a six-year sentence after reviewing cases from B.C. and Ontario with similar facts, adding those cases came with sentences between 3½ years to seven years.

"Part of the reason for the sentencing as high as they are in cases like this for general denunciation and deterrence is to put out there that despite how unhappy your marriage is it's not OK to plan to kill your spouse," O'Connor said.

"The sentence imposed is within the range and something my office will have to discuss whether or not we appeal."

Vey's lawyer, Aaron Fox, told reporters after the sentencing hearing that his camp recognizes the seriousness of the offence, however, he still holds the belief that the couple would not have gone through with their plot.

"I think it's fair to say this is pretty amateur hour compared to the other conspiracy offences we see like this," Fox said.

Nicholson's lawyer, Ron Piche, said it's a sad day for his client, who was disappointed with the jury's verdict in June and now again with the sentence. Piche added that an appeal will be considered.

"We've had the opportunity to look at it since the jury came back, of course we respect the jury system, we respect the jury finding, but I'm not naive enough to think the jury always gets things right," Piche said.

O'Connor convinced jurors that the pair planned to kill Vey's wife, Brigitte, in a house fire, and Nicholson's husband, Jim Taylor, by drugging him and then making him disappear.

Curtis and Brigitte Vey are the parents of NHL player Linden Vey, who currently plays for the Calgary Flames.

In her victim impact statement, Brigitte read a letter in court explaining how her family has been traumatized.

"The horror I experienced listening to that tape," Brigitte said. "You forced your children to go against their father and protect their mother."

Sentencing arguments

Lawyers for Vey and Nicholson argued that the pair were just talking, and had no intention to follow through with the plan.

O'Connor said this is a difficult case to sentence because there are no similar cases in Saskatchewan to reference. She spoke about the issue of domestic violence in the province before asking the judge for a six-year sentence for both Vey and Nicholson.

Fox told the court elements of conspiracy were established during the trial, however, the Crown never established the conspiracy could ever take place.

At the centre of this trial was an iPod recording captured by Vey's wife, where her husband and Nicholson are heard plotting a plan to murder each other's spouses. Vey's wife had become suspicious her husband was having an affair.

Court also heard a conversation Nicholson had with an undercover police officer who was in a cell with her after she was arrested July 6, 2013. Nicholson said she researched how to set a grease fire, but was too "chicken" to do it.

Fox told the court the case rested solely on the recording and the co-conspirators had no intention of following through with the plan. He recommended a 16-month sentence for Vey.

Piche argued there were no aggravating factors and no sophistication to the plan and it was nothing more than just talk. Piche suggested that Nicholson be sentenced to six months in jail, followed by with two years of probation and counselling.