Jock\u2019s mother, Sarah Davies, told the court: \u201cJock, I am standing here for you today as your proud mum and to honour you and to tell Paul how much his actions have inflicted so much grief to so many people and how our lives have changed forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul, you are not a bad man. But on the 5th of July last year, you failed to follow the No 1 rule of hunting: identify your target. Because of this, you have inflicted on me, Pete, George, Tom, and extended family, a life of pain, grief, loss and devastation as we learn to live day by day without Jock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recalling the morning her son left for the trip, Sarah Davies said: \u201cNot in my wildest dreams did I think Jock would not return.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those on the island have come back as different people.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that as a wife, a mum, a sister and a friend, trying to absorb the hurt of others had been \u201cheartbreaking and overwhelming\u201d.<\/p>\n
Despite the devastation, she said the family would continue to honour Jock and \u201cemulate all that he was in the way we live our lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
Stevens wept during the victim impact statements, nodding as family members addressed him.<\/p>\n
Jock\u2019s father, Peter Davies, told the court his son had \u201ctouched many lives, both young and old\u201d, noting more than 1000 people attended his funeral.<\/p>\n
He described him as \u201ca special character\u201d who could \u201cwalk in the shoes of others\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jock Davies, 21, died in a hunting incident on Stewart Island last year. Photo \/ Facebook<\/p>\n
He said grief had settled into daily life. Sometimes looking at photos brought \u201ca smile or chuckle\u201d, but \u201cmore often\u201d it brought tears.<\/p>\n
Shared passions had become painful reminders.<\/p>\n
\u201cHunting, boating, we had such similar interests … I can\u2019t even bring myself to do silly things like watch Clarkson\u2019s Farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described making \u201cthe worst call a husband can even make\u201d, replaying it \u201cover and over\u201d while trying to look after his other sons, George and Tom.<\/p>\n
He said his sons had been forced to take on responsibilities no one should have to, including telling others what had happened.<\/p>\n
Jock\u2019s older brother George told the court: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can say that can bring my brother back. My heart will never be full again.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul, I know there was no harm intended, but as a gun licence holder, you have failed. And now our family is facing the lifelong effects of your actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
George said carrying his brother\u2019s body after the shooting on the island was something he would live with forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the impact of having to carry my dead brother up the hill for help is something I\u2019ll have to live with forever, and it\u2019s something no person should ever have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom described the months since Jock\u2019s death as a \u201cliving nightmare\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked at Jock as more of a best mate,\u201d he said. \u201cIt hurts knowing that there are so many adventures left to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told the court he had found himself \u201cin a dark hole\u201d and had not been looking after himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sleep pattern was horrendous. Some days I could barely remember what I had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had been living in Christchurch at the time but moved back south to be closer to family.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still leaves a huge ache in my bones and soul,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said it hurt to know Jock had intended to join him at Teachers College in Christchurch this year.<\/p>\n
The first time he played cricket after his brother\u2019s death, \u201cthe field just felt empty. It wasn\u2019t right without Jock\u201d.<\/p>\n
The court heard Paul Stevens had “completely failed to identify” his target during a hunting trip last year. Photo \/ Ben Tomsett<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, a life sentence has already been served. The damage is done,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to see another family back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In sentencing, Judge Williams said nothing the court could do would make up for the loss of Jock.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing I can say or do today will in any way make up for the loss and grief that everyone has suffered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear from the words of his family how Jock\u2019s life was full of love, life and character, and the impact his loss will have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Williams said one of the \u201cseven rules of firearm safety\u201d was to \u201cidentify your target beyond all doubt\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis rule is critical for shooters to follow, as the consequences of failure to do so can be immediate and catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Stevens had \u201ccompletely failed to identify your target, instead shooting through the bush\u201d, because he \u201cdid not want to miss the opportunity to shoot a deer\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou simply saw a dark, shadowy image \u2026 walk into view through the bush and shot at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe excitement of pursuit and possible conquest do not justify the firing of a lethal weapon when the target has not been clearly identified.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Williams said the need to deter others from falling short of \u201cthe highest standards of safety when hunting\u201d was a key factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those who use a firearm have the responsibility of clearly identifying their target before they pull the trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court heard Stevens was part of a hunting group of eight on a planned seven-day trip, which included Jock\u2019s father and brothers. A police scene examination confirmed the fatal shot was fired from about 20m away.<\/p>\n
Stevens activated an emergency beacon after the shooting and an air ambulance was dispatched, but Jock died at the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told the police that it was a dumb move shooting through the bush, and you should have identified your target,\u201d Williams said. \u201cYou said that what you did was simply a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams adopted a starting point of 18 months\u2019 imprisonment and applied a 25% discount for the guilty plea, along with further allowances for remorse and personal circumstances.<\/p>\n
After discounts, the sentence was reduced to 10 months\u2019 imprisonment, which was converted to five months\u2019 home detention.<\/p>\n
Stevens\u2019 home detention will start on Thursday, March 5, to allow him to travel home.<\/p>\n
The judge also ordered $20,000 emotional harm reparation \u2013 $10,000 to a scholarship fund in Jock\u2019s name for tertiary students from West Otago, and $10,000 to the New Zealand Deer Stalkers Association to sponsor young people through its hunter safety course. <\/p>\n
His rifle and ammunition were forfeited.<\/p>\n
Stevens was supported in court by his wife and parents.<\/p>\n
Defence counsel Grant Fletcher said Stevens\u2019 remorse was \u201cutterly and completely profound\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, this is a man who cannot regret more than what he\u2019s done,\u201d he said, adding Stevens \u201cwould do anything to make it right, but obviously he can\u2019t\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said a sentence needed to \u201cremind the wider hunting community\u201d about safety obligations.<\/p>\n
Fletcher said offering money in such circumstances was \u201calways a difficult submission\u201d because it could never reflect the gravity of what had occurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for [Stevens] it\u2019s the only way he can do it, and that is truly from the heart. In fact, he would pay more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the two $10,000 payments had been accepted by the family.<\/p>\n
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jock\u2019s mother, Sarah Davies, told the court: \u201cJock, I am standing here for you today as your proud…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[62507,1558,1349,6284,100781,20556,7557,2837,33445,1342,2347,42,1345,20214,32655,18390,2514,117843,3375,3234,43,1523,169163,5161,7819,10117,6934,1361,61,40,38,41,39,1315],"class_list":{"0":"post-310568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-21yearold","9":"tag-been","10":"tag-court","11":"tag-david","12":"tag-davies","13":"tag-detention","14":"tag-district","15":"tag-during","16":"tag-fatally","17":"tag-five","18":"tag-grant","19":"tag-headlines","20":"tag-home","21":"tag-hunter","22":"tag-hunting","23":"tag-invercargill","24":"tag-island","25":"tag-jock","26":"tag-killed","27":"tag-months","28":"tag-news","29":"tag-over","30":"tag-rakiurastewart","31":"tag-sentenced","32":"tag-shooting","33":"tag-shot","34":"tag-stewart","35":"tag-that","36":"tag-to","37":"tag-top-news","38":"tag-top-stories","39":"tag-topnews","40":"tag-topstories","41":"tag-trip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}