When the Liberal governments of Canada enacted the various versions of the Youth Criminal Justice act (YCJa) and other criminal legislation, the government was signaling social and criminal miscreants that they were not responsible for their actions. and, what's more, that society at large was powerless to do anything about them.
Our lack of power extends far beyond youth crime and the YCJa, as it has found its way into the mainstream of our culture to the point where victimhood has become a cult. If a violent criminal causes bodily harm to another person, we have a tendency to see the perpetrator of the crime in the same light as the injured party. In fact, in most cases concern for the rights of the accused appears to be greater than for the well being of the injured.
If an intruder attacks you in your home and while defending yourself the intruder is injured, then count on being charged with a crime, regardless of the fact that the intruder was in your home uninvited.
The recent furor about increasing automatic minimum sentences for gun crimes, is yet another manifestation of the cult of victimhood foisted upon us by left-wing politicians and their sympathizers. "What about the cost?" the lefties are all shouting in unison. It would appear that the Left would rather use the money it would take to incarcerate a violent criminal to buy your votes with yet another Nannie-state social program. I say if you injure or kill someone while committing a crime you should be locked away for a long time and the cost be damned.
The argument that long criminal sentences are not a deterring influence on criminals is meaningless. Okay, let's say that a long stretch in the hoosegow won't deter other criminals from committing violent crimes. However, that long stretch of hard time will keep the perpetrator of a violent crime from re-offending at least until he gets out of prison.
Recently a number of incidents have come to light were police have discovered after arresting an individual committing a gun-crime that the individual was out on bail.
Such was the case last December, when 20-year old Jodie Wheatle was charged with murdering Danny Fatulahzadeh-Rabti, a Toronto area car dealer. a month earlier, Wheatle had been charged with carrying a loaded pistol at the Yorkdale Shopping Center. Less than 48 hours later he was out on bail. Judges that take this kind of lax attitude toward crime should be held to account for their actions. Failing that, perhaps the new legislation being introduced by the Conservative government should have a provision for making bail a lot more difficult for individuals charged with gun crimes.
I think the bottom line is that as a culture we have forgotten how to say "no". We allow our children no end of leeway because we would much rather be their friends than their parents, so we accede to demands and requests that in our heart of hearts we know should not be acceded to. Similarly, we tend to pamper recalcitrant criminals with kid gloves, thinking that if they are given the benefit of the doubt they will change their evil ways. Dream on.
It's time that we stopped looking at the world through the paradigm of the victim and took responsibility for our actions. at the same time we also need to hold those who would cause us harm responsible for their actions, meaning that they should be made to pay a stiffer price.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement