Family members of Jason Bird forgave the man who killed him over three and a half years ago as a judge handed down a life sentence to Okimaw Night-Fox on Friday.
Night-Fox pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge Monday stemming from an incident in Regina on June 15, 2021.
Appearing via telephone Friday, Bird’s sister Natasha Alpha said her brother’s death has left a hole in the hearts of her family.
“This wasn’t just my baby brother,” she told the court. “He was my protector. My life felt much safer with him in it.”
The guilty plea led the Crown and Night-Fox, who was representing himself in these proceedings, to come to an agreed statement of facts.
Those agreed upon events say Night-Fox shot Bird with a sawed-off shot gun from the passenger seat of an SUV at about 5:07 a.m. on the 800 Block of Princess Street. The bullet, parts of which ended up lodged in the side of a house on the street, struck Bird in the upper right chest.
He died in hospital a few hours later.
The weapon used in the shooting has not been recovered by police.
Three years prior to the 2021 shooting, Bird was incarcerated in relation to the death of a leader of a gang that Night-Fox was a part of.
Bird was released from prison just three days before he was fatally shot.
“He had a dream of leaving the streets behind him,” Alpha said. “Jason wanted desperately to leave behind a life that had been forced upon him.”
“The attempt to rebuild his life and be the man he wanted to be was cruelly ripped away,” she added.
‘Break the cycle’
Even as an audible grief rang from the phone in the court room, Alpha offered her forgiveness to the man who killed her brother.
“I refuse to carry the weight of [this] anger,” she said. “And I hope he can find a useful path, rise above the tide and bring with it, the possibility of a better future.”
Alpha, who works for the Indigenous court system in Calgary, Alta. urged Night-Fox to seek rehabilitation programs while serving his sentence.
“Jason will never have the opportunity to make the changes he wanted in life, to be the father, brother and son he could have been,” she said. “Okimaw still has that chance to break the cycle. To heal.”
While sitting in the holding cell of the court room, Night-Fox was given a chance to speak.
“Thank you for your forgiveness,” he said. “I am sorry for the hurt I have caused. Nothing has been gained from this.”
“Nothing. Only loss,” Night-Fox added.
A life sentence
Night-Fox’s sentence to life in prison was a result of a joint submission between himself and the Crown.
Justice Janet McMurtry echoed Alpha’s words saying she’s hopeful Night-Fox will do what Bird’s family has asked of him.
“See the value of the opportunity you still have,” she told him. “I believe you when saying you want to make a better life for yourself. And if you are released, for the sake of your children, you will remember this forgiveness you have received.”
“And you will be able to do just that, have a better life. So your children do not fall into the cycle of violence you have,” Justice McMurtry added.
Night-Fox will not be eligible for parole for 12 years, instead of the normal 10 years.
And if he is to be released, he will have several conditions in place including a lifetime ban of possessing a firearm.
