Describing as “despicable” what an American motorist did in downtown Windsor — intentionally targeting and running down a woman with his vehicle — a judge nevertheless couldn’t side with the Crown’s contention the crime deserved a long prison sentence.

The prosecution had sought a term of incarceration of up to eight years for the act of intimate partner violence, but Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman told a sentencing hearing Wednesday that level of punishment was “simply not supported by the case law.”

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At an earlier court hearing, the defence had described the Crown’s call for a four- to eight-year prison term “grossly disproportionate” to the crime.

The judge handed Shermere Coulston-Hawkins, 24, an 18-month sentence, the punishment the defence had called for.

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