Has Canada learned any lessons from this case?

[Hope MT]

Just wondering after reading through all these threads if there's any positive lessons that the Canadian Justice System has learned in your opinion.....

I'll start with one.....

No defense lawyer should ever have access to a crime scene without being in the company of a representative of the Crown's Office.........even after a search warrant has expired......I realize that this wouldn't stop a friend of the accused doing the same thing (retrieving the tapes) but all we can do is control the actions of defense lawyers .....they are sworn officers of the court and therefore have a duty to justice........not just their clients....

thoughts? (I have a million but I don't want to flood the thread with mine only)

[Anthea Delano]

Why not list some of your thoughts as a spark for us?

[Mrcommonsense]

Originally posted by Anthea Delano
Why not list some of your thoughts as a spark for us?
ok, dont mind if i do. 89% of all Canadiens know Robert Blake is a murderer.

[Hope MT]

Originally posted by Hope MT
Just wondering after reading through all these threads if there's any positive lessons that the Canadian Justice System has learned in your opinion.....

I'll start with one.....

No defense lawyer should ever have access to a crime scene without being in the company of a representative of the Crown's Office.........even after a search warrant has expired......I realize that this wouldn't stop a friend of the accused doing the same thing (retrieving the tapes) but all we can do is control the actions of defense lawyers .....they are sworn officers of the court and therefore have a duty to justice........not just their clients....

thoughts? (I have a million but I don't want to flood the thread with mine only)

Well, here's another couple........

1) media bans on certain evidence work!

2) Police forces must share information

3) Victims must have a say in sentencing

In Canada life in jail is 25 years unless the person is made a "dangerous offender".

I don't believe our justice system sentences reflect the crimes.We too should have life without parole.

We should also totally revamp the young offender act and start treating these kids who are repeat offenders with more seriousness.

If it is found out a person who has made a "deal" is lying, the deal should be able to be withdrawn.

Restitution should be ordered more to victims and not just to businesses and the government.

Anyone else have any other thoughts?

[kansas queen]

Originally posted by Hope MT


Well, here's another couple........

1) media bans on certain evidence work!

2) Police forces must share information

3) Victims must have a say in sentencing A question for you, Hope. How soon were the secreted tapes made known to police/prosecutors? Were they ever admitted into the trials?

1) I'm concerned about the media ban. I believe what it's MEANT to do is to keep the parties "honest." Of course this doesn't always work as in theory. The case I'm currently aware of is the Pickton case in Vancouver. I can't even find a proposed trial date?

2) What do you mean by police forceS?

3) Agreed 100%.

[Hope MT]

Hi Kansas;

The videos were retrieved from the home after the search warrants had expired......the police searched the home for over 70 days but missed them apparantly....the lawyer for Bernardo resigned and handed them over to the new layer who immediately consulted with the Law Society as to how to handle them.....

The deal was already done with Karla but the tapes were used in Bernardo's trial.......the media and public could not see the images but could hear the audio.......

The media ban meant the press could only report on the day's proceedings as the trial went along....so, yeah, I'm in agreement with media bans as it protects the case and no-one wants an appeal after a conviction for sure. We have to protect the concept of a fair trial at all times in my opinion.
I'm not following the Pickton case too closely right now but will probably read up more on it as the trial approaches (whenever that is)

What I meant by "police forces" working together is that before the Bernardo case, most a lot of Police Departments in different jurisdictions failed to share critical information with each other on potential serial rapists and killers.......that seems to have been corrected now and the formation of better data bases have helped things a lot.

By the way, Tim Danson (lawyer for the families) will be a guest for a few questions on the Roy Green Show this morning.......he will be discussing the new movie "Karla"

to listen in, go to "listen-live" at www.900chml.com

The show is on right now but I don't know exactly when Tim will be on

[keys]

I heard that the voire dire portion of the Pickton trial starts next month.

And yes, some sentences for Canadian young offenders are ridiculously lenient. I'm not sure if its any different now, but I remember reading some years ago that the maximum sentence for a murderer under the age of 16 was four years.

Kansas, I'm not sure if you had a chance to look through all the links I sent you, but one of them (that group murder of a teenager a bunch of other teenagers) was a pretty big story here. Despite the brutality of the crime and the high profile nature of the case, one of the girls convicted didn't even go to jail.

Basically, if its your first offence and you're under 18, you have to do something extremely bad for the Canadian justice system to even consider sending you to jail.

[kansas queen]

Haven't got to them all yet, keys but do have them saved.

I'm still stuck on Pickton! WHOA!!

[northernrflxn]

Originally posted by Hope MT


Well, here's another couple........

1) media bans on certain evidence work!

2) Police forces must share information

3) Victims must have a say in sentencing

Victims must never have a say in sentencing, beyond victim impact statements and a voice at parole proceedings. Victims, by definition, cannot be impartial. Impartiality is essential to any system of justice. However, better victim support programs would be a wonderful addition to our system.

[kansas queen]

Originally posted by northernrflxn


Victims must never have a say in sentencing, beyond victim impact statements and a voice at parole proceedings. Victims, by definition, cannot be impartial. Impartiality is essential to any system of justice. However, better victim support programs would be a wonderful addition to our system.

I thot that's what #3 meant, eg victim impact statement, not the victim DIRECTING the punishment.

Sorry for my misleading post.

[Anthea Delano]

Every justice system should have a better support system for victims and their families.

[Hope MT]

Sorry "northern".....I chose my words badly....I did mean "victim impact statements" before sentencing....(which of course have become the "norm" now....)

[malvolio]

...just wanted to say thank-you Hope for your generous and insightful contributions. You're a very down to earth person, with a lot to offer in the way of discussion on this subject. Thanks for sharing. I'm off to the country to babysit for a week (hopefully my sister's dial-up will allow me to access the boards!), so till then, Happy Holidays everyone, and take care!
:seeya:

[Hope MT]

Well thank-you Malvolio.....but all you guys in here have equally fasinating, well thought out and insightful posts.....I love reading what you guys have to offer to the discussion.....

Babysitting for a week?.........this isn't another "Uncle Buck" movie script in the making is it?......hahaha

Happy Holidays to you too! Enjoy! ;)

[malvolio]

Originally posted by Hope MT
Well thank-you Malvolio.....but all you guys in here have equally fasinating, well thought out and insightful posts.....I love reading what you guys have to offer to the discussion.....

Babysitting for a week?.........this isn't another "Uncle Buck" movie script in the making is it?......hahaha

Happy Holidays to you too! Enjoy! ;)

Actually, I wish...I love John Candy, and I think my nieces and nephew would agree, there have been many "Uncle-Buck" episodes ...
Actually, I'm on a leave of absence from work because we unexpectedly lost my young niece in May. I've been helping to care for her son. This was the third and final child my sister lost, and so of course, it's been pretty rough on her. She basically packed up and left to the country with my "great-nephew," and I've been back and forth ever since. These boards have been pretty helpful for me, and your posts have been inspiring -- easy to see you've been traumatized, and use the experience to facilitate healing.
Here's the link to my niece's memorial.
http://www.passagesmb.com/obituary_details.cfm?ObitID=96841
My sister's web-site is the
www.thebereavementjourney.com
and she's been running it pretty much since the death of my nephew Tyler (at 13).
Happy Holidays Hope and all! I'm going to enjoy my time with the little guy, and I look forward to our tete de tetes in the future!

[Hope MT]

Thanks Malvolio......that is very sad for you and your family......good on you for helping out. Very nice website as an ongoing memorial.

[Anthea Delano]

Malvolio,

Your sister is a remarkable woman, running the website is a positive way to deal with grief, that's my intellect responding, but emotionally I just can't wrap my mind around coping with her serial losses of all her children and other loved ones, it is gigantic and daunting. Your comment about using these boards as a distraction resonates with me.

Dylon is a blessing and will be a daily joy for you to share. Have a great vacation and report!

[malvolio]

Originally posted by Anthea Delano
Malvolio,

Your sister is a remarkable woman, running the website is a positive way to deal with grief, that's my intellect responding, but emotionally I just can't wrap my mind around coping with her serial losses of all her children and other loved ones, it is gigantic and daunting. Your comment about using these boards as a distraction resonates with me.

Dylon is a blessing and will be a daily joy for you to share. Have a great vacation and report!

Thanks Anthea and Hope. He is a blessing, the picture is an older one...Dylon is six now, and lots of fun, but of course, the little guy is sad, so I'm gonna make sure we play a lot, and I'm bringing him a real cool train-set to open early, so that'll be a hoot for both of us.
His grandmother/mom is still in shock. After Tyler, her son passed away, I had to quit my teaching job to take care of her. Now, she seems resigned to the whole thing, which I said, is shock. It's way too soon, and Tasha's passing was very sudden (aggressive brain tumor that hit within months), so we are all sort of doing what we can.
Life....you just gotta do what you gotta do...
Anyway, I'll "see" you both when I get back...