Four inmates who stomped a man to death in his cell should spend eight to 10 years in prison for their crime, the Crown argued at a sentencing hearing Friday.

Tyrell Runningrabbit, Trent Fox, Vincent Cardinal and Thomas Abraham were charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year.

David James Klassen, 33, was attacked and fatally wounded at Drumheller Institution on February 21, 2022.

No motive has been released, but Cardinal’s attorney, Shawn King, told the court Friday that the men entered Klassen’s cell “not to kill this man, but to teach him a lesson.”

“They review the success of their violence”

Surveillance footage from the jail showed the men pushing Klassen back into his cell as he tried to leave just after lunch that day.

The four men leave and return several times over the next 16 minutes.

“They are reviewing the success of their violence,” Judge Sean Dunnigan noted.

About 30 minutes after the first attack, an inmate discovered Klassen’s body and called guards.

Prosecutor Heather Morris noted that the killing was a “four to one – four criminals on one vulnerable victim”.

The attack involved stomping on Klassen’s head and neck, according to an approved statement of facts filed as part of the guilty plea last year.

Forgiveness

At the time of his death, Klassen was serving a 10-year prison sentence for manslaughter. In 2017, he admitted to killing a man who had stolen money from him. The crime was related to drug trafficking.

His mother wrote a victim impact statement read aloud in court by Morris.

Sheila Klassen said her pain “seems like it will never end.”

She and her son spoke almost daily and made plans to spend time together after his release.

But Klassen also wrote a message of forgiveness to the four men who killed her son.

“I don’t have any hate in my heart,” she said. “You chose a path in life that led you to a dark place.”

“A Final School for Criminals”

Cardinal’s attorney said his client is working to turn his life around.

“He realizes his life can’t go on like this,” King said.

James McLeod, who represents Runningrabbit, described the prison as “a finishing school for criminals”.

“We have to recognize the reality of how these people were living — they were in prison,” McLeod said.

McLeod says his client feels remorse.

Defense lawyers Allan Fay, Matt Browne, King and McLeod proposed sentences for their clients of six to eight years.

A date for Dunnigan’s decision will be set next week.