Are Canadian courts too lenient? Wed, March 9, 2011
WINNIPEG - Two teens who beat a man to death while attending Gimli's Icelandic Festival have been sentenced to one day in jail and three years supervised probation.
Martyn Hendy, 29, died Aug. 3, 2008, following a violent encounter with several youths.
The two accused, both now 19, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Charges against three other youths were previously stayed.
The sentence was jointly recommended by the Crown and defence. Court heard witnesses could not identify the accused and offered wildly conflicting versions of what happened, reducing the Crown's prospects of conviction at trial.
"“We must adhere to our democratic and legal values, even if that adherence serves in the short term to benefit those who oppose and seek to destroy those values,” said Justice Robert Sharpe, writing on behalf of Justices John Laskin and Eleanore Cronk.
“For if we do not, in the longer term, the enemies of democracy and the rule of law will have succeeded,” he said. “They will have demonstrated that our faith in our legal order is unable to withstand their threats.”
Thank goodness there are still judges who understand the ethical and moral obligations of a democratic society.
Zeeman, 2011-05-07 12:10:03
Yes, in a lot of cases, Canadian courts are too lenient. On the flip side, you have a guy who stole getting 8 years in prison. That's a bit overboard in my opinion. Common sense is needed.
Gordon, 2011-03-23 22:39:02
You can blame Trudeau for the abolition of the death penalty, but since then, what Party has even seriously tried to have it re-instated? You can't blame Trudeau for everything - it's been 30 years and things could have been changed, but they haven't been. Why is that?
Gordon, 2011-03-23 22:27:19
Hey Mrs B. can you come up with even one example that doesn't betray your hatred of police forces across Canada?
BTW didn't you know that lenience and liberal can be used interchangeble when discussing law and punishment?
You obviously want the hammer dropped on these 2 policemen, yet you rally for human scum like terrorist Khdar to be released into society with a nice pat on the back and a big cheque to boot. How do you rationalize this bizzarre thinking?
The Crusher, 2011-03-23 15:31:52
Neighbours here at least 6 shots fired and call 911.
Cop responds but sees nothing from his car. Doesnt bother to even get out of the car and drives away. Young women in the home who had been shot survives 4 days before neighbours find her but dies on way to hospital.
Cop fined one days pay for not doing his job properly.
Seems lenient to me
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-23 13:30:08
Lets see. Cop runs red light, kills 2 young men, fined 1500 dollars. Thats it.
Seems lenient to me
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-22 08:51:49
Jay from Ottawa, 2011-03-11 10:01:04 Posted: "Did I mention that Hemp use dates back to the Stone Age, with hemp fibre imprints found in pottery shards in China and Taiwan over 7,000 years old."
Three words: Willaim Randolf Hurst. The production of hemp, which in 1928 was legal, the cellulose of which made a mighty fine paper threatened his newsprint empire.
Not_the_Daddy, 2011-03-11 21:59:24
The States are bad eh Brig. They're the root of all evil. I'll bet it's their fault that the earth quake hit Japan.
Neil Young lives in the states and after he jams on his guitar he should bust it over your head.
Shawn, 2011-03-11 10:22:57
While I will agree that a single year for manslaughter, while letting three of them walk free, is ridiculous, I can't complain too much about our ability to tighten or loosen laws based on our needs, here's an example.
"In 1988, advocating the use of cannabis or cannabis-related products (including hemp) became a crime punishable by $100,000 for a first offence and $300,000 for a second offence, meaning that simply publishing an opinion article with a favourable position on cannabis became illegal. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Canada's office in Ontario was raided by police after being charged with breaking Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code for handing out brochures advocating the legalization of cannabis. In 1994, the Ontario Court of Justice ruled that Section 462.2 stifled freedom of expression and overturned the ban on literature, taking effect only in Ontario."
1988 isn't all that long ago, and I could have been fined my lifes savings and lose my home for posting that ....
Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known, producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year and has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, fuel, and medical purposes. For a crop, hemp is very environmentally friendly as it requires few pesticides and no herbicides.
Did I mention that Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. The seeds can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, made into hemp milk (akin to soy milk), prepared as tea, and used in baking. The fresh leaves can also be eaten in salads and other products include cereals, frozen waffles, hemp tofu, and nut butters, to name a few.
The use of hemp for fibre production has declined sharply over the last two centuries, but before the industrial revolution, hemp was a popular fibre because it is strong and grows quickly; it produces roughly 10% more fibre than cotton or flax when grown on the same land. Hemp has been used to make paper. It was often used to make sail canvas, and the word canvas derives from cannabis.
Hemp can be used as a "mop crop" to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals. Eco-technologist Dr. Keith Bolton from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, is a leading researcher in this area. Hemp is being used to clean contaminants at Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.
And why are we using corn to produce biofuel when we could be using hemp (which as pointed above is one of the fastest growing biomasses known). Hemp biodiesel is clean burning and non-toxic.
Did I mention that Hemp use dates back to the Stone Age, with hemp fibre imprints found in pottery shards in China and Taiwan over 7,000 years old.
I'm very thankful we have the ability to reform our laws. Maybe one day we'll be able to slap violent crimes with stiffer penalties, while doing everyone (except for big business) a favour and legalize (as a start) the growing of hemp on a mass scale to produce the countless materials it has long offered the human race.
How can we take our legal system seriously ? I find it hard to take our ruling governments seriously when they allow private interest to stifle human progression in the name of profit. Is there really nothing more important than the all mighty dollar ? I'm often at odds with conservatives because many answer "no", but I'm also standing with them when we let people walk away from murder practically scot free. We need to reform everything from the ground up, anything short of that, is to flirt with potential catastrophe for our race as a whole.
Jay from Ottawa, 2011-03-11 10:01:04
"I have to wonder what the ruling would have been if we voted our judges in"
This has nothing to do with the judge.The crown wanted this sentence or get no conviction at all. And as we see in the States, judges make decisions based on getting re-elected, and popular, not what is right
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-10 12:12:06
Are Canadian courts too lenient?
"“We must adhere to our democratic and legal values, even if that adherence serves in the short term to benefit those who oppose and seek to destroy those values,” said Justice Robert Sharpe, writing on behalf of Justices John Laskin and Eleanore Cronk.
“For if we do not, in the longer term, the enemies of democracy and the rule of law will have succeeded,” he said. “They will have demonstrated that our faith in our legal order is unable to withstand their threats.”
Thank goodness there are still judges who understand the ethical and moral obligations of a democratic society.
Zeeman, 2011-05-07 12:10:03
Gordon, 2011-03-23 22:39:02
Gordon, 2011-03-23 22:27:19
BTW didn't you know that lenience and liberal can be used interchangeble when discussing law and punishment?
You obviously want the hammer dropped on these 2 policemen, yet you rally for human scum like terrorist Khdar to be released into society with a nice pat on the back and a big cheque to boot. How do you rationalize this bizzarre thinking?
The Crusher, 2011-03-23 15:31:52
Cop responds but sees nothing from his car. Doesnt bother to even get out of the car and drives away. Young women in the home who had been shot survives 4 days before neighbours find her but dies on way to hospital.
Cop fined one days pay for not doing his job properly.
Seems lenient to me
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-23 13:30:08
Seems lenient to me
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-22 08:51:49
Three words: Willaim Randolf Hurst. The production of hemp, which in 1928 was legal, the cellulose of which made a mighty fine paper threatened his newsprint empire.
Not_the_Daddy, 2011-03-11 21:59:24
Neil Young lives in the states and after he jams on his guitar he should bust it over your head.
Shawn, 2011-03-11 10:22:57
"In 1988, advocating the use of cannabis or cannabis-related products (including hemp) became a crime punishable by $100,000 for a first offence and $300,000 for a second offence, meaning that simply publishing an opinion article with a favourable position on cannabis became illegal. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Canada's office in Ontario was raided by police after being charged with breaking Section 462.2 of the Criminal Code for handing out brochures advocating the legalization of cannabis. In 1994, the Ontario Court of Justice ruled that Section 462.2 stifled freedom of expression and overturned the ban on literature, taking effect only in Ontario."
1988 isn't all that long ago, and I could have been fined my lifes savings and lose my home for posting that ....
Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known, producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year and has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, fuel, and medical purposes. For a crop, hemp is very environmentally friendly as it requires few pesticides and no herbicides.
Did I mention that Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. The seeds can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, made into hemp milk (akin to soy milk), prepared as tea, and used in baking. The fresh leaves can also be eaten in salads and other products include cereals, frozen waffles, hemp tofu, and nut butters, to name a few.
The use of hemp for fibre production has declined sharply over the last two centuries, but before the industrial revolution, hemp was a popular fibre because it is strong and grows quickly; it produces roughly 10% more fibre than cotton or flax when grown on the same land. Hemp has been used to make paper. It was often used to make sail canvas, and the word canvas derives from cannabis.
Hemp can be used as a "mop crop" to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals. Eco-technologist Dr. Keith Bolton from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, is a leading researcher in this area. Hemp is being used to clean contaminants at Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.
And why are we using corn to produce biofuel when we could be using hemp (which as pointed above is one of the fastest growing biomasses known). Hemp biodiesel is clean burning and non-toxic.
Did I mention that Hemp use dates back to the Stone Age, with hemp fibre imprints found in pottery shards in China and Taiwan over 7,000 years old.
I'm very thankful we have the ability to reform our laws. Maybe one day we'll be able to slap violent crimes with stiffer penalties, while doing everyone (except for big business) a favour and legalize (as a start) the growing of hemp on a mass scale to produce the countless materials it has long offered the human race.
How can we take our legal system seriously ? I find it hard to take our ruling governments seriously when they allow private interest to stifle human progression in the name of profit. Is there really nothing more important than the all mighty dollar ? I'm often at odds with conservatives because many answer "no", but I'm also standing with them when we let people walk away from murder practically scot free. We need to reform everything from the ground up, anything short of that, is to flirt with potential catastrophe for our race as a whole.
Jay from Ottawa, 2011-03-11 10:01:04
This has nothing to do with the judge.The crown wanted this sentence or get no conviction at all. And as we see in the States, judges make decisions based on getting re-elected, and popular, not what is right
Mrs-Brigand, 2011-03-10 12:12:06