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Early release for lethal drunk driver



May 17, 2011



Norma Jean Mooswa was sentenced to ten years in prison following a fatal car crash on Canada Day in 2004. CBC? A repeat drunk driver who caused a car crash that killed six people has been approved for early release from prison, the Parole Board of Canada says.



Norma Jean Mooswa is serving a ten-year sentence and was recently approved for what is known as statutory release, which is available to almost all offenders who have served two-thirds of their sentence.



The fatal crash took place on July 1, 2004, near Cochin, Sask.



Four people were also seriously injured when Mooswa's vehicle, which was speeding, plowed into a line of vehicles.



Mooswa, 43, has been incarcerated at a healing lodge in southwest Saskatchewan.



While on statutory release, Mooswa must not drink nor go into any place where liquor is sold or served.



According to the Parole Board, Mooswa has successfully completed a number of treatment programs while in prison. However, the board noted she has "a persistent pattern of numerous driving related offences."



Mooswa will reach the two-thirds point of her sentence on Aug. 20.



Sentence too light: families



By Betty Ann Adam - The Star Phoenix - December 21, 2004





BATTLEFORD, SASKATCHEWAN -- A 10-year prison sentence is not long enough for a woman who killed six people in a drunken auto crash near the resort village of Cochin on Canada Day, the families of the victims said Monday.



Norma Jean Mooswa, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to six counts of impaired driving causing death and four counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm in connection with a chain reaction smash-up. It was triggered when she slammed into the back of a vehicle waiting at a stop sign around noon on July 1.



All four of her passengers, including a pregnant woman, and two women in the vehicle she hit, were killed. Two men in that vehicle were seriously injured.



"We expected her to get life in prison. Ten years for all six lives? What are you talking about?" said Lisa Higginbotham, who took the witness stand to give a victim impact statement about the death of her daughter, 21-year-old Tarrah Higginbotham.



"Tarrah doesn't get to come back when she's 31," Higginbotham said.



Crown prosecutor Dennis Cann recounted evidence from witness statements.



Mooswa began drinking beer the night before the crash and may have stayed awake all night. Around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 1, Amanda Bearsears phoned to the place where Mooswa was and asked for a ride to the Little Pine First Nation.



Mooswa, whose licence was suspended because of previous drinking and driving offences, and who was at that time facing another impaired driving charge from three months earlier, was a passenger on the drive to Little Pine.



At a house there, Mooswa drank beer, vodka and whisky. Bearsears is said to have warned Mooswa not to drink because she was to be the driver. Mooswa laughed and took another drink from her mug, Cann said.



For some reason, Bearsears, who was four months pregnant, Lorenda Assasayo, Elvis Kennedy and Clarence Louis got into a car with Mooswa at the wheel. They stopped at a gas bar, where witnesses saw that she was intoxicated. Kennedy bought 18 beer.



The crash scene was about 110 kilometres away.



Witnesses said the Mooswa car passed at least three vehicles on a solid line.



Three other vehicles were waiting at a stop sign near Cochin when Mooswa slammed into them from behind.



The speed limit on the road was 80 kilometres per hour, slowing to 50 near the stop sign.



A "black box" device from the car she was driving revealed that five seconds before impact, it was travelling 160 kilometres per hour.



All passengers in her car died at the scene. Mooswa was saved by an airbag. When the airbag and seatbelt were cut away, emergency staff found a beer bottle held between her legs, Cann said.



Higginbotham and Meyers were in the Toyota Echo that took the main impact.



One of two surviving male occupants of the Echo, Keith Oftebro, said one of his best friends died in his lap. Oftebro was aware that many of his own teeth were knocked out and something was horribly wrong with his neck. He spent several months with a metal "halo" supporting his broken neck as it healed. He lost about 30 pounds during the months when his jaw was wired shut.



As he waited to be rescued from the crushed vehicle, he checked the girls for a pulse and found none. He knew that his friend Brian Lowe was seriously injured. He was terrified.

Those killed were Higginbotham and Meyers, 24, both of Saskatoon, Bearsears, 25, Louis, 48, and Assasayo, 19, all of Moosomin First Nation, and Kennedy, 41, of Cut Knife.



Lowe and Oftebro were hospitalized. Donald Pattinson and his three-year-old son, Colby suffered minor injuries.



Queen's Bench Justice Donald Krueger received more than 20 written victim impact statements. On Monday, court heard from the mothers of Higginbotham and Angela Meyers, the 15-year-old sister of Meyers, and Oftebro.



"You are a mass murderer. . . . Anyone who knew of your drinking patterns and laughed or turned their heads is guilty too," said Meyers' mother, Jane Campbell.



All statements expressed outrage, intensified by Mooswa's criminal record, which includes three previous convictions for drinking and driving, two of which resulted in previous jail terms.



Mooswa also pleaded guilty Monday to driving drunk and driving while disqualified in April 2004 and to failing to appear in court on that matter.



She also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified in the July 1 crash.



Higginbotham said Canadians should press politicians to create tougher penalties for drunk driving and for those who drive while disqualified.



"There have to be serious consequences for driving while disqualified or what's the point?" she said in an interview.



Mooswa hung her head and cried, sobbing audibly for the entire two-hour hearing. She attempted to regain her composure to speak before sentencing but was only able to choke out a few words before lapsing back into sobs.



"I'm really sorry for what's happened. I always will remember . . . " was all she said.



As she stood wracked by sobs, her husband joined her in the dock and placed his arm around her.



"A vehicle is a very powerful machine, capable of destruction," Krueger said.



"When armed with an impaired driver, they are like a bomb. The difference is bombers pick their victims. Impaired drivers kill at random," he said.



Krueger accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence lawyer Don Worme and imposed 10 concurrent 10-year prison sentences. He sentenced Mooswa to time served -- almost six months -- for the April offences.



Krueger sympathized with the families who felt the term was inadequate, but said the 10-year global sentence is the longest ever imposed in Saskatchewan for this offence.



Cann said he has heard of cases in other provinces that resulted in sentences greater than 10 years but noted that some of those have been reduced to 10 years on appeal.



madd.ca One for the road, Jim?May 17, 2011Norma Jean Mooswa was sentenced to ten years in prison following a fatal car crash on Canada Day in 2004. CBC? A repeat drunk driver who caused a car crash that killed six people has been approved for early release from prison, the Parole Board of Canada says.Norma Jean Mooswa is serving a ten-year sentence and was recently approved for what is known as statutory release, which is available to almost all offenders who have served two-thirds of their sentence.The fatal crash took place on July 1, 2004, near Cochin, Sask.Four people were also seriously injured when Mooswa's vehicle, which was speeding, plowed into a line of vehicles.Mooswa, 43, has been incarcerated at a healing lodge in southwest Saskatchewan.While on statutory release, Mooswa must not drink nor go into any place where liquor is sold or served.According to the Parole Board, Mooswa has successfully completed a number of treatment programs while in prison. However, the board noted she has "a persistent pattern of numerous driving related offences."Mooswa will reach the two-thirds point of her sentence on Aug. 20.By Betty Ann Adam - The Star Phoenix - December 21, 2004BATTLEFORD, SASKATCHEWAN -- A 10-year prison sentence is not long enough for a woman who killed six people in a drunken auto crash near the resort village of Cochin on Canada Day, the families of the victims said Monday.Norma Jean Mooswa, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to six counts of impaired driving causing death and four counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm in connection with a chain reaction smash-up. It was triggered when she slammed into the back of a vehicle waiting at a stop sign around noon on July 1.All four of her passengers, including a pregnant woman, and two women in the vehicle she hit, were killed. Two men in that vehicle were seriously injured."We expected her to get life in prison. Ten years for all six lives? What are you talking about?" said Lisa Higginbotham, who took the witness stand to give a victim impact statement about the death of her daughter, 21-year-old Tarrah Higginbotham."Tarrah doesn't get to come back when she's 31," Higginbotham said.Crown prosecutor Dennis Cann recounted evidence from witness statements.Mooswa began drinking beer the night before the crash and may have stayed awake all night. Around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 1, Amanda Bearsears phoned to the place where Mooswa was and asked for a ride to the Little Pine First Nation.Mooswa, whose licence was suspended because of previous drinking and driving offences, and who was at that time facing another impaired driving charge from three months earlier, was a passenger on the drive to Little Pine.At a house there, Mooswa drank beer, vodka and whisky. Bearsears is said to have warned Mooswa not to drink because she was to be the driver. Mooswa laughed and took another drink from her mug, Cann said.For some reason, Bearsears, who was four months pregnant, Lorenda Assasayo, Elvis Kennedy and Clarence Louis got into a car with Mooswa at the wheel. They stopped at a gas bar, where witnesses saw that she was intoxicated. Kennedy bought 18 beer.The crash scene was about 110 kilometres away.Witnesses said the Mooswa car passed at least three vehicles on a solid line.Three other vehicles were waiting at a stop sign near Cochin when Mooswa slammed into them from behind.The speed limit on the road was 80 kilometres per hour, slowing to 50 near the stop sign.A "black box" device from the car she was driving revealed that five seconds before impact, it was travelling 160 kilometres per hour.All passengers in her car died at the scene. Mooswa was saved by an airbag. When the airbag and seatbelt were cut away, emergency staff found a beer bottle held between her legs, Cann said.Higginbotham and Meyers were in the Toyota Echo that took the main impact.One of two surviving male occupants of the Echo, Keith Oftebro, said one of his best friends died in his lap. Oftebro was aware that many of his own teeth were knocked out and something was horribly wrong with his neck. He spent several months with a metal "halo" supporting his broken neck as it healed. He lost about 30 pounds during the months when his jaw was wired shut.As he waited to be rescued from the crushed vehicle, he checked the girls for a pulse and found none. He knew that his friend Brian Lowe was seriously injured. He was terrified.Those killed were Higginbotham and Meyers, 24, both of Saskatoon, Bearsears, 25, Louis, 48, and Assasayo, 19, all of Moosomin First Nation, and Kennedy, 41, of Cut Knife.Lowe and Oftebro were hospitalized. Donald Pattinson and his three-year-old son, Colby suffered minor injuries.Queen's Bench Justice Donald Krueger received more than 20 written victim impact statements. On Monday, court heard from the mothers of Higginbotham and Angela Meyers, the 15-year-old sister of Meyers, and Oftebro."You are a mass murderer. . . . Anyone who knew of your drinking patterns and laughed or turned their heads is guilty too," said Meyers' mother, Jane Campbell.All statements expressed outrage, intensified by Mooswa's criminal record, which includes three previous convictions for drinking and driving, two of which resulted in previous jail terms.Mooswa also pleaded guilty Monday to driving drunk and driving while disqualified in April 2004 and to failing to appear in court on that matter.She also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified in the July 1 crash.Higginbotham said Canadians should press politicians to create tougher penalties for drunk driving and for those who drive while disqualified."There have to be serious consequences for driving while disqualified or what's the point?" she said in an interview.Mooswa hung her head and cried, sobbing audibly for the entire two-hour hearing. She attempted to regain her composure to speak before sentencing but was only able to choke out a few words before lapsing back into sobs."I'm really sorry for what's happened. I always will remember . . . " was all she said.As she stood wracked by sobs, her husband joined her in the dock and placed his arm around her."A vehicle is a very powerful machine, capable of destruction," Krueger said."When armed with an impaired driver, they are like a bomb. The difference is bombers pick their victims. Impaired drivers kill at random," he said.Krueger accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence lawyer Don Worme and imposed 10 concurrent 10-year prison sentences. He sentenced Mooswa to time served -- almost six months -- for the April offences.Krueger sympathized with the families who felt the term was inadequate, but said the 10-year global sentence is the longest ever imposed in Saskatchewan for this offence.Cann said he has heard of cases in other provinces that resulted in sentences greater than 10 years but noted that some of those have been reduced to 10 years on appeal.