A Port McNicoll man was sentenced in court on Friday after he stabbed another man five times in heart, the abdomen and the chest.

“All I kept thinking was…he better be alright, he better be alright. His last words to me were mom I’m alright, don’t worry about me,” says James Pirie’s mother Cindy.

That’s what happened when Cindy Pirie saw her 27-year-old son lying on the ground. In 2012 James Pirie was stabbed five times by Kevin Lawrence during a party in Port McNicoll. He later died in hospital.

“My son, I’m never going to be able to speak with him on the phone. I’m never going to have him at my Christmas dinner table again. He’ll never be around to have another birthday party for me,” added Pirie.

Lawrence was initially charged with murder but the crown agreed to reduce the charges to manslaughter in order to avoid a lengthy trial. In February Lawrence pleaded guilty to that charge. On Friday he was sentenced to eight years in jail, minus time he’s already served.

“No number is ever high enough for the victim’s or low enough for someone who is going into jail,” says Lawrence’s defence lawyer Leo Adler.

Crying could be heard throughout the courtroom from bow the Lawrence and Pirie families. Once the sentence was read Lawrence was immediately cuffed and taken away.

“He will be probably in Penetanguishene for a brief period of time and then he will be transferred to a federal institution where they will assess what kind of penitentiary he should actually go to, whether it’s maximum, medium or minimum security,” added Adler.

The Pirie family says they were hoping for a stronger punishment.

“I think he deserved a lot more time than he got for the extent of the wounds he caused my son,” says Pirie. “Nothing will ever make up for my loss.”

In addition to jail time, Lawrence will also have to provide a DNA sample for the DNA data bank and will not be able to own firearms and certain kinds of weapons.