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Canada's supreme court strikes down tough-on-crime era measures
Source: Reuters
Canada's supreme court strikes down tough-on-crime era measures
Reuters in Ottawa
Friday 15 April 2016 20.38 BST
Canada’s supreme court has struck down two so-called tough-on-crime measures introduced by the former Conservative government, ruling the changes to sentencing practices were unconstitutional.
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In Friday’s first case, the court ruled six to three that the requirement of a one-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for drug offenses violated the guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment in the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The case came about after Joseph Ryan Lloyd was convicted of drug possession for trafficking purposes and was subject to a minimum one-year sentence due to a prior conviction for a similar offense.
Mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders were enacted in 2012, part of changes the Conservatives made.
“The mandatory minimum sentence provision covers a wide range of potential conduct. As a result, it catches not only the serious drug trafficking that is its proper aim, but conduct that is much less blameworthy,” the court said.
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Reuters in Ottawa
Friday 15 April 2016 20.38 BST
Canada’s supreme court has struck down two so-called tough-on-crime measures introduced by the former Conservative government, ruling the changes to sentencing practices were unconstitutional.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
In Friday’s first case, the court ruled six to three that the requirement of a one-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for drug offenses violated the guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment in the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The case came about after Joseph Ryan Lloyd was convicted of drug possession for trafficking purposes and was subject to a minimum one-year sentence due to a prior conviction for a similar offense.
Mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders were enacted in 2012, part of changes the Conservatives made.
“The mandatory minimum sentence provision covers a wide range of potential conduct. As a result, it catches not only the serious drug trafficking that is its proper aim, but conduct that is much less blameworthy,” the court said.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/canada-supreme-court-strikes-down-crime-stephen-harper