If many average Canadians think a large swath of our judiciary is out of touch, I give you B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crossin.
The “learned” judge weighed in last week that a section of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional because, uh, it treats everyone convicted of first-degree murder the same.
OTTAWA – A new independent commission tasked by the federal government with reviewing miscarriages of justice could discover that more people than expected are serving prison sentences for crimes they didn’t commit.
Other countries that launched similar commissions have found that “the degree of wrongful convictions certainly was much more significant than they knew,” said Sen. Kim Pate, a prominent advocate for the wrongfully convicted.
“I suspect we will see much the same.”
November 1, 2024. It’s 70 degrees in Manhattan—and getting warmer. A drought has set in since summer; the downtown breeze feels less like an East River gust than a Santa Ana wind.
On the 13th floor of Manhattan’s criminal court, at 100 Centre Street, Judge Maxwell Wiley’s courtroom is stagnantly hot. Chants from outside are audible through an open window, as Daniel Penny, the defendant in this manslaughter case, on trial for allegedly killing Jordan Neely on the subway in spring 2023, enters the building: “Daniel Penny has got to pay!” As the protesters disperse following their morning session, jackhammers from New York’s progressive public works project—demolishing the Manhattan jail to make room for a citywide jail system that can hold far fewer inmates, even as the number of inmates rises—compete with courtroom voices.
As the second anniversary approaches of the vicious swarming death of Kenneth Lee, one of three girls who pleaded guilty to manslaughter is up on new charges in Peel.
But even the judge in the swarming case wasn’t told what they are.
Lucky for her, though, both the Crown and defence agree she should receive enhanced credit for the 93 days she spent in custody on those charges when Justice David Rose calculates how much, if any, time she should serve for her role in the senseless slaying of the homeless man shortly after midnight on Dec. 18, 2022.
Detective Erin McMullan, prosecution witness in the Detective Helen Grus case, promoted despite her record of neglect in a domestic violence case that ended in murder.
Ottawa Police Detective Erin McMullan’s promotion to Sergeant is raising questions, given that her neglect and inaction in a domestic violence case contributed to a tragic outcome. An October 17, 2024, CBC article details how McMullan’s failures may have played a role in the murder of an abused wife – a case that continues to raise concerns about Ottawa Police’s accountability in handling domestic violence situations.
In April, a Toronto man accused of sexually abusing his niece walked free. According to the Crown, the man allegedly started abusing her from the time she was four or five until she was 16, and he took pornographic photos of her that he used to extort her into performing sexual acts. The case was deemed a “priority” owing to the seriousness of the charges, but it was nevertheless subject to a series of delays which, in the end, meant that it would have been 31 months between the time that charges were first brought and the scheduled conclusion of the trial had it gone on.
Kelowna man pleads guilty to multiple thefts, break ins
A Kelowna man with a criminal record spanning two provinces and two decades pleaded guilty on Monday to a new set of offences.
Saeed Abbas, 44, admitted to a four part crime spree, including break ins, the theft of two Dodge trucks, a couple SUVs and even a possession of weapons charge. The criminal acts took place between September 2022 and January 2023, the latter date being when he started his incarceration.
… In making her case, Miller told the court that Abbas has a criminal record that started in 1999 when he was a youth offender in Calgary and since then, has amassed 25 convictions for offences including arson, theft, fraud, robbery, and vehicle thefts. He also has 22 breach charges.
… Miller also pointed out that the pre-sentence report that highlighted the trauma, racism, and poverty Abbas suffered since his parents came to Canada as refugees from Palestine is important to weigh into the equation.
h/t SweetPea
In April of 2024, I posted You’re on you own: what to do about it. The point of that article was we really are on our own. Government is not able to protect us, and when government wrongs us, it’s going to move heaven and earth to avoid paying for that harm.
Yes, this means when we need them most, the police aren’t going to be there, and when we don’t want them at all, they just might, particularly if they’re the FBI. More about this shortly.
A Toronto judge has taken the rare step of halting the extradition of an Ontario man to the U.S. to stand trial for child luring after finding his Charter rights were violated by law enforcement and justice officials on this side of the border.
Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas’s decision denounces the actions of the Ontario Provincial Police and provincial and federal Crown attorneys, saying their conduct “violates the community’s sense of fair play and decency and amounts to an abuse of process.”
Canada is putting too many Black Canadians behind bars. Here is what we can do about it
With Black Americans making up only 12.2 per cent of the population, but 32 per cent of the prison population (2021-2022 figures), the high incarceration rates and racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system have drawn significant global attention, especially after the police murder of George Floyd.
Less known is the racial disparity in Canada, where Black Canadians account for only 3.5 per cent of the general population but represent 9.2 per cent of the prison population. This means Black Americans are incarcerated approximately 2.62 times their population representation and Black Canadians nearly identical at 2.63 times.
Blacks are incapable of making sound life choices according to this article so must be treated leniently when they commit a criminal act.
And you’re a racist of course.
Take a wander through r/Torontology for a slice of life.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is coming to the defence of a Toronto police officer who was captured on video flipping their middle finger to a citizen during a heated exchange.
“Let’s support our police. Let’s thank them, rather than getting Google Glasses and trying to, you know, harass our police, that’s what I call it. It was harassment,” Ford said of the video while taking questions from the media in Mississauga Wednesday morning.
#WATCH: Toronto police officer flipped off a man who asked about their parking. pic.twitter.com/OhyB9Mg4RP
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) August 5, 2024
Hard to pick a side here.
The videographer was over the top but rules for thee and not for me is a bad look for a public relations problem child like the TPS.
The TPS has been selective about enforcing the rule of law in Toronto.
Their decisions are driven by identity politics and the charge of “Two-Tiered Policing” is a valid complaint.
It seems their primary role is to escort Hamas support rallies and ignore the crime that contributes to Toronto’s deteriorating quality of life.
They always want to be paid more of course and that is no longer sustainable in a city enduring economic decline.
Cops with attitude are all too common and it must be remembered they are not your friend just the paid militia of the government.
UPDATE WARMINGTON: Former Toronto officer’s viral clash with coffee cops leads to probe
“I am satisfied that he is completely reformed,” Code wrote in his decision, which took effect on Oct. 24, 2023.
In court on Friday, Code ruefully revisited those words, finding that the 29-year-old Collins was most likely involved in a downtown Toronto armed robbery that took place just days after his sentence had started.
Landmark report on ‘Canada’s Black Justice Strategy’ calls for major reforms, end to mandatory minimums
Pouring more resources into jobs, housing, health and education, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences and creating a national coordinating agency for Black people are among the major overhauls called for in a landmark report on Canada’s “Black Justice Strategy.”
If implemented, the report concludes, these measures and more could shrink the over-representation of Black and Indigenous people in jail — and create a “justice system that is truly just” for all.
This is just another identity politics scam in advance of the election.
It will be a quick release bonanza for career criminals who have been taught to have zero respect for the white man and his laws.
The following are essential components of a racially fair Canada according to a pair of federally appointed brainstormers: dedicated Black courts and federal departments, racial “decarceration” targets … and, possibly, reparations for slavery.
These measures, numbering 114 in total, were recommended to the federal government by a steering group at the end of June to shape the Liberal government’s forthcoming Black Justice Strategy. It’s an initiative that will be sure to promote disorder and advance the well-being of a select few, if the guiding material is any indication.
An Ontario Conservative MP says the new Black Justice Strategy unveiled by the Liberals will make life worse for blacks and everyone else.
In a thread on Twitter (“X”), Durham MP Jamil Jivani urged Liberals to reject their party’s “troubling recommendations”, predicting such “radical policies…will lead to more crime, drugs and chaos.”
