Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this report contains the name of a person who has died.
The Northern Territory's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has appealed the sentence of a Darwin man who killed an Aboriginal man in a hit-and-run, arguing it was "manifestly inadequate".
On Monday, 24-year-old Darwin man Jake Danby was sentenced by Justice Sonia Brownhill to a 12-month community corrections order, including five months of home detention, after he had pleaded guilty to hit-and-run driving causing death.
In June last year, Mr Danby struck two Aboriginal men near a Darwin shopping centre before fleeing. One of them, a 39-year-old referred to as Mr Whitehurst for cultural reasons, was thrown seven metres, sustaining a traumatic brain injury that led to his death in Royal Darwin Hospital.
The second victim, aged 37, was hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Friday, the ABC reported the DPP had lodged an appeal.
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The sentence sparked outrage among Aboriginal people across the country.
"Why is [Jake Danby] out? If an Aboriginal man hit a white man, he would be locked up," Mr Whitehurst's sister said, via the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA).
"Mr Whitehurst was my one and only brother; now I have no brothers. We loved him so much. This is not fair."
Text messages read to the court revealed Mr Danby referred to the victims as "n*****s" and "dogs," describing the collision as a "two-for-one combo".
He also wrote: "They learnt their lesson now, maybe next time they will use the crossing instead of walking out in front of cars, expecting me to stop like they own the place."
"They were rolling all over the road like bitches when I looked in my … mirror," he said, adding the world needs "c***s like me to take a hit to teach these c***s a lifelong lesson".
Of the messages, Mr Whitehurst's sister said: "It's really hurting me. Seeing those messages, it makes me so upset."
In sentencing, Justice Brownhill acknowledged the texts showed Mr Danby had "demonstrated a shockingly callous disregard for the welfare of the victims," but accepted he had since shown remorse, citing his age, lack of criminal history, and employment record as grounds for rehabilitation.
NAAJA chairperson Theresa Roe said the case highlighted deep inequality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Territorians. She said many families across the Territory had contacted NAAJA to express their "disgust and dismay" at the outcome.
Despite nearly half of all people incarcerated in the NT being held on remand, Mr Danby was granted bail, supported by stable housing, employment and no prior convictions.
"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.
She described Mr Danby's texts as "racist" and "dehumanising," adding: "There is little to suggest the offender's racist attitudes have been reformed, despite the immense harm for Aboriginal communities across the NT caused by such attitudes."
Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss earlier urged the DPP to appeal, saying the sentence showed "systemic racial discrimination on full display".
"This is a clear demonstration that the mainstream system continues to deny both to Aboriginal People," she said. "Aboriginal lives are not protected by the State. There is no justice in this outcome."
Attorney-General's family connection revealed
Adding to the controversy, it was revealed that NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby is related to Mr Danby, a connection she had not previously disclosed.
At a press conference on Thursday, when questioned about the case, she did not reveal the family link.
The ABC later reported Ms Boothby said in a statement: "My sister's stepson was involved in the June 2024 incident, the subject of which has now gone through the courts.
"At no time have I or my office been involved in the matter, either in opposition or upon change of government.
"At all times I have acted with integrity in carrying out my functions as attorney-general."
Shadow Attorney-General Chansey Paech criticised Ms Boothby's failure to disclose the connection.
He wrote on social media that the lack of transparency was "disgraceful and appalling," adding: "For a government that talks tough on crime, their silence is deafening. They cannot claim to be tough on crime while turning a blind eye to such serious integrity issues."
