Mother of DJ Hancock, teen killed by drunk driver, wants stiffer penalties

The mother of the Sudbury, Ont. teen killed by a drunk driver in 2014 says she's frustrated with what she calls a light sentence for the man who killed her son.

DJ Hancock's car was struck head-on by a truck driven by Walter Carter on Sudbury's southwest bypass in August 2014. He was sentenced to five years in prison later that year.

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Kim Hancock told CBC News Carter is now eligible for day parole.

"The justice system sucks," she said.  "I mean, let's be real about it ...he's had jobs in jail, like where he can go out and go to work all day and come back."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's been out of jail more than he's been in jail," she said.

Officials with the Ontario region of the Parole Board of Canada have told CBC News that there is a graduated schedule for offenders to apply for release into the community, such as applying for parole after serving one third of their sentence.

In Carter's case, that would be after less than two years.

About a year after he was sentenced, he became eligible for day passes from prison.

Hancock said the sentences should be stiffer, even though she knows it won't bring her son back.

"Maybe it would stop people from drinking and driving," she said. "At this point [the current sentences] are not doing anything."