Coming up in July Canada will release from prison one of its most notorious sex offenders/murderers.

Link to article on cnn.

Questions for debate.

Is Canada's criminal justice system to lenient?

Would you agree if the U.S. was following the same course of action?

I regret to say the question is irrelevant.

The issue of Homolka is not one of leniency or severity, it is a case of happenstance. A favourable plea bargain was struck with her before other damning evidence came to light, evidence which would have made a plea bargain unecessary. However, just as in the US, the Judiciary were bound by the already entered plea agreement.

The only 'alternate course of action' would have been to break a plea agreement, something that is simply not done in either the US or Canada.

I'm familiar with the story of Karla Holmolka. She may have become educated in prison, but she was manipulated by a truly evil man in her ex-husband. She isn't a person that engenders much sympathy, but apparently Canadian officials consider her no longer a threat to society. Let's hope they are right.

Regarding the U.S. following the same course of action, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, sex offenders, thieves, and worse walk out of American prisons with their time served and their debt to society paid. The truth of the matter is that most of those that go into prison eventually come out.

The U.S. has no business telling ANY other country how to handle their repeat offenders and scum. Not when you consider this appalling story:

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Despite being arrested at least nine times for molesting boys, Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller managed to avoid lengthy prison terms, coach youth football, move in with another convicted sex offender -- and be named by authorities as one of the most prolific child molesters in history.

Schwartzmiller's criminal record began 35 years ago, but he never registered as a sex offender and spent just 12 years in prison. In his time on the outside, police suspect he molested children as many as 36,000 times in several states, Mexico and Brazil.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/19/serial.m...tion=cnn_latest

Simply unbelievable. The system has failed.

Let me just clarify certain statements made regarding this case...



Evidence was withheld from authorities until after this agreement was struck. At the time the Crown attorney's felt that making the deal (which has just expired) was the only way of convicting and incarcerating Paul Bernardo, who is still considered arguably the second-most dangerous man ever in Canada; with Robert Picton 'edging ahead.'



Unfortunately, this is not true either. Homolka was manipulated to a degree, but many now suspect her of being much more involved in the crimes which brought her husband down. She offered up her own sister as a drugged-out rape victim to her then fiancee as an engagement present and filmed the murders of their other two confirmed victims. This woman is evil.

That being said, I have to take issue with Sleeper's questions:


Is Canada's criminal justice system to lenient?

Would you agree if the U.S. was following the same course of action?

What course of action is that? Making a plea agreement while critical information is being withheld unethically, or honouring a legally binding agreement? What exactly would you propose Sleeper? That the Canadian government simply not let her out? How exactly would that work in a country of laws?

More importantly, do you think that the United States, or Great Britain, or France, or Germany, the Netherlands, etc., are any different?

I think we are far too lenient on criminals in the United States. This man and woman should have been dead a long time ago in my opinion. Canada not having the death penalty is even worse. Nighttimers post about Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller just strengthens my belief even more that we are too lenient. That man should have been dead a long time ago but he was let free over and over to ruin the lives of children, thanks to our lenient criminal justice system.
It's time to stop rehabilitating criminals and start actually punishing them. Could somebody provide me with proof that a murderer or child rapist who was put to death committed another crime after the fact?

No, not a single one of them has. Neither has a single innocent person who was executed ever committed a crime afterwards!

But then, this is not a thread on the death penalty, so lets please not turn it into one...

If you knew it was not on topic then why bring it up?

I tried to find an instance where an innocent person was put to death but I couldn't find anything solid, only assumptions.

Oh wait I know... Lot's of innocent people have been put to death... at the hands of murderers!!