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The Harper government is getting even tougher on crime. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announcing today his government plans to introduce legislation that will ensure Canada’s worst convicted offenders stay behind bars for life – with no chance of parole. The move will amend the current law that allows those convicted of first-degree murder to apply for parole after serving 25 years.
If the legislation passes next week, a mandatory sentence of life without parole will be handed down for those convicted of first degree murder involving sexual assault, kidnapping, terrorism, killing an officer and crimes of a “brutal nature.”
“A life sentence in Canada will henceforth mean exactly that – a sentence for life” the Prime Minister said today during the announcement “when a criminal kills more than one person under our law, judges can now impose consecutive sentences and take every lost life into account”
The mother of one of serial killer Clifford Olson’s 11 victims, Sharon Rosenfeldt, supports the move. She says there is no mythical closure for the family of a murder victim but the legislation will help. “Now families who lose loved ones to killers like Clifford Olson will never have to attend parole hearings every 2 years opening up old wounds and scars that never heal.”
The family of 2010 rape and murder victim Kimberly Proctor won’t benefit from the new law, but say it’s a step. “We’re talking about people that should not be walking amongst us in the public. People that should be staying behind bars for the rest of their lives” says Kimberly Proctor’s aunt Jo-Ann Landolt.
Criminal lawyer Dean Paquette says it’s a step that’s unnecessary. He says the type of criminals the legislation is meant to address are already being denied parole “it’s attempting to address a problem that really doesn’t exist and it’s pure politics.”
In order to address constitutional concerns Prime Minister Harper says some killers serving life without parole will be permitted to petition the Minister of Public Safety for release after serving no less than 35 years. Mr. Paquette says perhaps someone who does not have a political agenda should be the one making the decision on the best interest of society.
