Criminal justice system – Aboriginal Court
- For most part aboriginal people find themselves at the bottom of society
- R.v. Gladue:
- Is a precedent setting case
- Why is it so significant
- Section 718.2
- Are the principle for sentencing
- These are the principle that guide all the sentencing judge in our country
- (e) said imprisonment should be the last restore
- Is the punishment proportionate to the crime
- When this was first introduced the orginal phrase was aboriginal and other minorities
- What do they mean by circumstances of aboriginal people
- Royal commission of aboriginal commission
- it was the royal commission that voiced out the concerns of the aboriginal people
- stated that we needed to change sentencing practices
- report of the aboriginal justice inquiry:
- it was in reponse to two events in Manitoba
- helly Osborn murdered by two men but trail only sentenced one man
- there was a huge cry over the fact that she didn’t get justice for what she deserved
- 1998- murder of JJ harper chief od tribal council in Manitoba
- Two police officers murder him and those officers were left free without a trail
- This influenced them to want to change the whole criminal justice process not just sentencing
- Royal commission into sentencing
- How can we get our sentencing practice more progressive and up to speed
- This elimaited that death penalty in our country
- Focus on rehabilitation rather than just punishment
- Wanted to think more creatively how to better sentencing practices in general
- Gladue
- 19 year old female murdered her boy friend because she thought he was havig sexual affair with
her sister
- It was not the first time
- Her partern was charged before for physically hurting her while she was pregnant
- On the case day there were bruises
- The judge said she wasn’t a fearful or abused wife because her stabbing her husband made are a
aggressor
- Charged to second degree murder (3 year)
- No consideration of section 718.2 (e)
- 1) She appeal on the ground that judge did not consider the circumstances that she was a
aboriginal
- 2) Also that the judge did not consider her rehabiation effort ( went to school, took counciling)
- 3) Did not consider her partner being violent (long history)