Today's headlines in the Record state: "Judge explains aversion to prison". No, it's not that he's worried about going there himself - he explains why he hates sending convicted criminals to prison, and why he'd rather just rap their knuckles with a house arrest.
Read this article which seems to be available without subscription. You will begin to understand why Justice Minister Vic Toews is running into so much opposition to his proposals for stiffer sentences and cracking down on crime:
To explain his reluctance to send offenders to prison, Westman told Janzen several stories from his own days as a criminal defence lawyer, when he visited imprisoned clients.
Once, a "young man'' died after being thrown down a stairwell at the Joyceville prison, the judge said. No witnesses would come forward to finger the culprits.
Westman also recalled three clients doing time at Millhaven for murder. He inquired about them while visiting someone else at the prison and was told by guards that they'd been whisked out quickly one night. The men had come to the guards and told them they had to be out by midnight.
"If they hadn't, they would have been dead by morning,'' Westman said.
"We just oversee the institutions, we can't control them. Sometimes, you have to send people to that system, but you worry. Recognizing the difficulties, you really hesitate to send him to that kind of setting.''
Gee.. prison isn't a nice place? Gosh, who knew? Maybe those bad guys should think twice before committing a crime!
Anyway, prosecutor Marg Janzen wasn't impressed:
"Well, that's a problem,'' she retorted. "The court has to set aside sympathies and biases to fulfil this court's obligation.''
She said the court was "abdicating its responsibility'' by failing to send an offender to prison for fear of potential harm.
But Westman argued the penal system isn't accomplishing what the community wants it to. He wondered why Canada and the United States jail so many people.
"Other countries seem to be having more success by dealing with it differently," he said. "It's an enlightened society that turns away from the heavy use of incarceration."
So he is using his position as a platform for judicial activism and social engineering.
Never mind the poor victim, who had passed out after her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Graham, threw her to the ground in a rage, grabbed her by the throat, stuffed her back in the car hitting her head against the window in the process, and then attempted to shove her out of the moving car. Graham has been charged with aggravated assault, and also "pleaded guilty in September to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a prohibited weapon".
Justice Colin Westman has been very candid about his bias, but the implications are frightening. He's reluctant to send criminals to prison because he has heard that bad things can happen to people that go there. Better to just keep them at home. Never mind the victim who is living in constant fear that her abuser might go after her again.
Read it and weep, folks. Two stories in two days from members of the left-wing elitist lobby freely admitting that democracy is flagrantly circumvented in Canada.
Well, at least they're not trying to hide it anymore.
5 comments:
Judge Westman does what is typical of the left wing. He sees a problem, the failure of our prison system, but does nothing to correct it. Instead he creates another problem, lenient sentences wich encourage crime. Thereby creating another problem which the left will evenyually present another non solution to (as soon as they can figure out a solution that will create another problem for them to solve.)
Of course, until they come up with such a solution they will continue to deny there is any real problem.
I would like to tell Justice Westman that if he cannot do his job then he should resign or be fired.
Marg Janzen ""Well, that's a problem,'' .... "The court has to set aside sympathies and biases to fulfill this court's obligation..... the court was "abdicating its responsibility'' by failing to send an offender to prison for fear of potential harm.""
Has her head screwed on absolutely straight..unlike the good Judge!
How is "democracy flagrantly circumvented?" Can you expand on that?
Red, that's rather self-evident. I wouldn't think you would need to be spoonfed in this situation.
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