A woman has begun a two-and-a-half year jail term for a crime that has left her devastated - the manslaughter of her husband through a drug overdose.
Kimberley Anne Campbell, 27, was in tears all through her sentence by Justice John Fogarty in the High Court at Christchurch.
She and family members called, "I love you," to each other as she was led to the cells.
She and her husband Mark Fenton Campbell had been married five years. His death occurred the day after his release from a two-and-a-half year jail term.
She had introduced him to morphine use and the couple would regularly inject the drug. Sometimes she would inject him when he was too cold to find his own veins.
His tolerance for the drug had apparently reduced while he was in jail. She had injected him with a half dose, and then another dose 10 minutes later because she did not want him taking the syringe and injecting it elsewhere.
He died in his sleep at their home in Peterborough Street. A post mortem showed he had died of a severe pulmonary oedema from morphine overdose.
Defence counsel David Ruth said Campbell was grieving and devastated by the death. Every time he had seen her about the case she had broken down crying.
"She will feel this for the rest of her life," he said.
"Whatever this court does to her today will pale into insignificance."
Victim impact statements by Mr Campbell's mother and brother were read to the court.
His mother described him as "a talented and likeable ratbag", with skills as a carver and tattooist.
She did not hate Campbell for what she did, but she could never forgive her for taking her son away.
His brother said he was taking anti-depressants, was no longer the sports-mad person he used to be, and stayed home rather than attending social functions.
Justice Fogarty noted that she had pleaded guilty early, once the manslaughter charge had been settled. She was remorseful.
"It is important for the community that a clear signal be sent that drug users, who are taking risks by injecting drugs, should understand that any deaths that occur, where they amount to manslaughter they are not going to be treated lightly."
He reduced her prison term because of her remorse and her guilty plea, and imposed two-and-a-half years.
