Clark's Harbour man sentenced to 30 months for manslaughter in fentanyl death

A Clark's Harbour, N.S., man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison on a charge of manslaughter after a young woman overdosed on a powerful opioid.

Jesse Arthur Simpson previously pleaded guilty to the charge in relation to the November 2018 death of 19-year-old Cameron Clairmont. Simpson, 32, was sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.

A charge of criminal negligence causing death and two trafficking charges were withdrawn.

In an agreed statement of facts, Simpson admitted to consuming cocaine and alcohol at a downtown Halifax hotel with Clairmont and his girlfriend on the evening of Nov. 2, 2018.

Purple powder contained fentanyl

Simpson and Clairmont ended up back at her apartment on the Bedford Highway, where Simpson produced a purple powder that he'd been carrying around for a month.

The court was told that Simpson suspected it was an opioid, but he'd been too afraid to use it.

He and Clairmont, whom he'd previously dated, inhaled a line of the powder and fell asleep.

When Simpson woke up three hours later, he said he saw Clairmont's lips were blue and she was unresponsive. Simpson immediately called 911, but paramedics could not revive the woman.

A subsequent test of the powder showed it was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

A low point

In a pre-sentence report, Simpson described how he was at a low point at the time of Clairmont's death. He'd been a captain on the family's lobster boat, but his father sold the vessel and split the proceeds.

Simpson found himself unemployed, and the money from the boat only fuelled his drug and alcohol use.

Court was told Simpson has not consumed alcohol or illegal drugs since Clairmont's death, although he uses cannabis to deal with anxiety and insomnia.

Justice Christa Brothers applauded Simpson's sobriety, but she chided him for not seeking counselling or treatment in the four years since Clairmont died.

The judge pointed out that Simpson had the time and money to play 100 rounds of golf, but not to seek professional counselling for his addictions.

Brothers also noted that Simpson had a prior conviction under Nova Scotia's Liquor Control Act. Four years before Clairmont died of a drug overdose, Simpson admitted to supplying the then 15-year-old with alcohol.

Denunciation and deterrence

The Crown had been asking for a sentence of three years in prison, while Simpson's lawyer suggested a sentence of two years plus probation.

Brothers rejected the defence suggestion, describing fentanyl as "a scourge that has caused immeasurable harm in Nova Scotia and across Canada."

The judge said Simpson's crime required more denunciation and deterrence than what the defence suggested.

In addition to the prison term, Simpson's DNA will be placed in a national databank and he's forbidden from possession of weapons for 10 years.