Crown prosecutors are seeking to appeal the 12 1/2-year sentence handed an Ontario truck driver for the killing of an Indigenous woman in his Edmonton hotel room.

Bradley Barton was sentenced in July for manslaughter in the death of Cindy Gladue, a Métis and Cree woman, in June 2011.

The Crown wanted a prison term of between 18 and 20 years.

Barton testified he paid Gladue for sex and was shocked to find her bloody body in the bathtub the next morning. But the Crown said he sexually assaulted her and caused a severe – and fatal – wound to her vagina.

A medical expert testified Gladue may have lived had she received immediate medical help.

Second trial

It was the second trial for Barton after a jury found him not guilty in 2015 of first-degree murder in Gladue’s death, sparking rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women across the country.

Both the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial.

The Crown said in its notice of appeal the judge in the second trial erred in his consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors and that 12 1/2 years is “demonstrably unfit.”

“The sentence imposed is not proportional to the gravity of the offence and the moral blameworthiness of the offender,” the notice said.

Barton’s lawyer has also filed an application to appeal his sentence, saying it was not proportional to the crime.