Sahnda Tansowny outside Melfort Provincial Court House Monday evening, July 15, following the sentencing of Adam and Peter McLean (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

McLean sentencing

Family of Chris Hawkins happy with sentence and end of legal ordeal

Jul 15, 2024 | 7:47 PM

The two men convicted of beating a man on their farm near Melfort will serve their sentences in the community, rather than behind bars.

Adam and Peter McLean were sentenced to just under two years each in a conditional sentence on charges of assault causing bodily harm.

Shanda Tansowny, the sister of the late Chris Hawkins who was the victim of the beating, said she is both happy with the sentence of both men, and that it’s now over so her family can move on.

“I’m really happy,” she told northeastNOW. “I’m sad because we have a lot of grieving to do as a family and we’ve had to delay that for two years, and of course there’s a part of me that’s angry and wants to throw the wall at them, but at the end of the day all I really want is for people to be better.”

“This absolutely brings our family closure and I hope it ends here, I hope that we can go on with our family life and I just hope that we can move on and heal our family.”

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The two were originally charged with aggravated assault and forcible confinement after Hawkins was severely beaten at their farm around noon on Sept. 21, 2022. Those charges have since been stayed.

“The victim family in me would like to say I would have loved to see them go to jail, that’s just the mean part of being human and wanting revenge and justice. I just want people to be better though, and if being in their homes does that, then great, and if they don’t follow the rules, then being in jail will be better,” Tansowny added.

Both Adam and Peter will have to keep the peace, appear before the court if requested, report to a supervisor (parole officer) in Melfort upon request, stay inside from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., come to the door when police are there, not consume any alcohol or weed or attend places where it’s sold, provide samples of their breath if requested, complete additional counselling or therapy programs including anger management, aren’t allowed to contact Roger Hawkins or Shanda Tansowny, refer to them on social media, or go to their residences, place of work, or education.

They will also be required to complete 200 hours of community service, aren’t allowed any weapons, need to notify the court of any changes to their name, work placement, or address, have to pay a $100 fine, can’t leave Saskatchewan, and need to supply a DNA order for records.

Hawkins, a trained agronomist, was on their property taking photos when the McLeans saw him and beat him, an assault caught on security video.

The video was sent to Tansowny anonymously and then shown in court on Monday.

It showed the McLeans pulling Hawkins out of his car, kicking and punching him, and hogtying him with zip-ties after their neighbours helped box his vehicle in.

In the video, you could hear the McLeans calling Hawkins names such as p***phile, f***ot, c**t, and c**k sucker. They also said that they should’ve shot the f**ker and hung him.

According to the judge and lawyers present, the video was an example of two people on their worst day, carrying out vigilante justice, and making a horrible mistake, after being previously wound up by people stealing property off their farm in the past.

A knife, bear spray and beer can were also found in Hawkins’s car, which led to their judgement.

Both Adam and Peter had nearly forty reference letters sent in on their behalf, noting the kind and generous people they usually were, rather than what was shown in the video.

These letters were taken into account when the sentence was finalized.

Hawkins was admitted to hospital in Melfort with internal bleeding following the assault, before being taken to Saskatoon and released. He was re-admitted shortly afterward and then died.

Tansowny has spoken publicly in the past about her frustrations in dealing with the RCMP in the Melfort detachment as she tried to get justice for her brother.

The video of the beating ran counter to what the McLean’s claimed happened and what the RCMP told her.

“There’s always three sides to every story, the only difference was that I had the truth in a video. I wanted the judge to see it before he made his decision and I did not want them to be charged with something they didn’t do.”

Adam and Peter were sentenced with one count each of assault causing bodily harm, with Adam given a two years less a day Conditional Sentence Order (CSO), along with a two-year probation. Peter received a two-year less-a-day CSO with just 12 months probation.

While the video proved the assault, according to the coroner, the Crown, and later the judge, it was not the reason for his death, therefore the lower the severity of the charges.

He died when the doctors trying to treat him accidentally punctured him with the scope they were using to examine his bleeding. They could not see properly because of the volume of blood.

Tansowny said he would not have been bleeding in the first place if the McLeans had not beaten him.

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