Mandatory Minimum Sentences a Must
for Murder and Other Violent Crimes
September 7, 2005
Apparently, jealously is now a reasonable excuse for
committing a murder in Canada.
By most standards, Norman Wicks, of Vanderhoof, was not
a perfect man. Though married, he was juggling several
lovers on the side.
Teresa Senner, one of Mr. Wicks’ lovers, discovered
his other lovers. When he still refused to leave his wife,
she stabbed him in the groin in a fit of jealously, killing
him.
She was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter
not second degree murder. Last week, a B.C. Supreme Court
justice denied Ms. Senner access to her e-mail and sentenced
her to what is essentially a simple curfew: house arrest.
While Mr. Wicks’ was violently murdered, Ms. Senner
will sleep in her own bed each night, prepare meals in
her own kitchen, watch her favourite television shows
in her livingroom, perhaps even enjoy the sunshine in
her backyard and chat with her neighbours.
Mr. Wicks did not attack her. Ms. Senner did not act
in self defence. Did Mr. Wicks deserve to die and his
killer go unpunished because he wasn’t a nice guy?
In 1996, the federal Liberal government introduced conditional
sentencing to the Criminal Code of Canada, which is how
Ms. Senner was able to obtain her get-out-of-jail-free-card.
The Liberals believe in conditional sentencing because
they believe punishment and incarceration should be a
“last resort” in Canada’s LEGAL system.
Liberals believe that everyone can be rehabilitated and
that jail time is not a necessity, even for the most violent
crimes.
And that is one of the many fundamental differences between
the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party
of Canada.
Conservatives believe people should be held responsible
for actions and for their crimes. Conservatives believe
that prison sentences are a necessary form of deterrence
in an effective JUSTICE system. Conservatives believe
that victims and their families have a right to see justice
carried out. Conservatives believe in mandatory, minimum
jail sentences for violent crimes and I have personally
introduced a private members’ bill to enact this
measure.
In vigourously defending its conditional sentencing loophole,
the Liberal government accepts that because Ms. Senner
might be a nice lady who committed a “crime of passion”
and might never do something like that again, her incarceration
would serve no benefit to society.
The Conservative Party of Canada believes that a crime
of passion is still a crime. We believe that our justice
system must continually reinforce that murder is unacceptable
in our society. Ms. Senner’s case will likely be
used in the future as a precedent for defence lawyers
seeking lighter sentences for their clients convicted
of murder or manslaughter.
Sadly, this case is far from the only example of violent
crimes going unpunished, and a new website, Justice Canada
Monitor, lists many other lenient sentences, as well as
information on youth crime, correctional services, conditional
sentencing, victim’s rights, parole board decisions
and more.
The site also lists the justice policies of the national
federal political parties. If you are interested in becoming
better informed about justice issues in Canada, check
out www.justicemonitor.ca.
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