Sentencing Against Soldier Convicted In Death Of Tentmate In Afghanistan Delayed
Posted September 29, 2009 10:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Canadian soldier who shot and killed his tentmate in Afghanistan in 2007 is facing a jail term of at least two years, a military judge said Tuesday.
Cmdr. Peter Lamont, who’s hearing the case, postponed the sentencing against Cpl. Matthew Wilcox until Wednesday, saying he will consider arguments from the defence that the soldier should serve as much of his term as possible in a federal institution.
Wilcox, a 24-year-old soldier from Glace Bay, N.S., was convicted in July of criminal negligence causing death and neglect of duty in the shooting of Cpl. Kevin Megeney.
Wilcox’s court martial heard evidence that he and the 25-year-old Megeney – both reservists with the Nova Scotia Highlanders – were playing a game of quick-draw when Wilcox fatally shot his close friend in the chest on March 6, 2007.
Wilcox testified that he had acted in self defence, instinctively firing his 9-millimetre Browning pistol without looking when he heard someone behind him cocking the hammer on a gun inside his tent at Kandahar Airfield.
Maj. Jason Samson, one of the prosecutors in the case, recommended that Wilcox be sentenced to six years in prison, nine months of which would be served at the Canadian Forces Service Prison in Edmonton.
As well, he said Wilcox should be reduced in rank to private and dismissed from the forces.
Members of Megeney’s family told Wilcox’s sentencing hearing their lives have been shattered by his death.
Dexter Megeney described his son as one of his “buddies,” a vibrant young man who enjoyed fishing, playing golf and shooting pool with his dad.
But since his son’s death, Megeney said he no longer sleeps well and has started smoking again after giving up the habit four years ago.
He takes up to 18 pills a day to control stress.
Karen Megeney said her son was proud of serving in Afghanistan and she, too, has had trouble coping since he died.
She said the entire family rarely gathers for family dinners, as her two daughters find it difficult being together.
Ann Wilcox described how her son is now a “broken” man.
Since the accidental shooting, she said her son has become withdrawn, rarely sleeps, has violent nightmares and could be prone to suicidal thoughts
