The Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed a sentence that saw a driver avoid jail time for a hit-and-run incident that left one Aboriginal man dead and another injured.
On Monday, 24-year-old Jake Danby was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, including five months home detention, after hitting the two pedestrians with his car in June 2024.
The NT Supreme Court heard Mr Danby fled the scene and then labelled the incident a "two for one combo", calling the victims "dogs" and "oxygen thieves" in text messages to friends afterwards.
A spokesperson from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has confirmed the DPP has filed an appeal "on the ground that the sentence is manifestly inadequate".
Danby has also been charged with speeding, driving unlicensed, and driving an uninsured motor vehicle, which he is listed to plead guilty to in Darwin Local Court on October 1.
If an Aboriginal man hit a white man, he would be locked up.Mr Whitehurst's sister.
One of the victims, 39-year-old Kunwinjku man Mr Whitehurst, was thrown seven meters and later died at Royal Darwin Hospital after suffering a traumatic brain injury.
In a statement released by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Mr Whitehurst's sister expressed dismay over the sentence.
“Why is [Jake Danby] out? If an Aboriginal man hit a white man, he would be locked up,” she said.
“Mr Whitehurst was my one and only brother, now I have no brothers. We loved him so much. This is not fair.”
NAAJA Chairperson Theresa Roe said the sentence highlights inequality in the NT justice system.
The offender was granted bail while awaiting sentence, with the court saying it was exercising leniency based on his stable housing, strong employment record, and a lack of prior contact with the justice system.
"Unfortunately many Aboriginal Territorians have a very different experience of the justice system due to chronic housing instability, limited access to employment and educational opportunities, over policing, and racism," Ms Roe said.
"The racist, dehumanising language used by the offender is a stark reminder of the racism that many Aboriginal people experience in their day to day lives."
Offender related to NT Attorney-General
On Friday it was revealed Mr Danby is a relative of NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby.
In a statement to NITV, Ms Boothby confirmed Mr Danby is her sister's stepson.
“At no time have I, or my office been involved in the matter ... at the time of the crash, I immediately declared the incident to the Opposition Leader for the CLP," Ms Boothby said in a statment.
“I have never attempted to hide the fact that the driver was an extended family member."
During a press conference on Thursday, Ms Boothby was asked about the appropriateness of Mr Danby's sentence given the government's much touted "tough on crime approach".
In her answer, she made reference to a possible change to the NT's Sentencing Act 1995, but did not mention her personal connection to the case.
Shadow Attorney-General Chansey Paech described the lack of disclosure as a "lie by ommission".
"The Attorney-General has been caught out, publicly commenting on a case involving her own family member without declaring the clear conflict of interest," the Arrernte Gurindji Arabana man said.
"She stood at a press conference, looked Territorians in the eye, and kept it a secret ... This is not a minor lapse in judgment. It is a lie by omission, and Territorians deserve better.
"Marie-Clare Boothby has lost all credibility. If she had any integrity she would resign."
