How Long Must We, The 'People', Continue To Suffer?!?

I have commented before on the significant failings of our justice system on this blog. Sadly, things are not getting any better, innocent people are still being killed and the perpetrators are being treated like the victims by the legal (it isn't justice) system. In response to the following article in the Peace Arch News on Oct. 25/12 http://www.peacearchnews.com/news/175820191.html, I wrote the following Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

RE: Hit-and-run killer sentenced to two years (less a day, actually), Oct. 25/12

   What an absolutely pathetic and totally inadequate sentence! Two sets of concurrent sentences meaning that Kyle Brandon Danyliuk serves one amount of time each for multiple offences. Also, there is no mention of him being held responsible for driving with no Driver's License [he's never had one] (and therefore, no insurance either). Assuming that Justice Michael Hicks is right about Danyliuk "having learned his lesson already", and therefore, does not need further deterrence, what does this laughable sentence do to deter another young punk from doing something equally heinous to some other innocent person(s) and family?!
   No wonder our court system is 'plugged' when the sentences they do hand down (after considerable resources are  expended [in this case, up to 35 officers and 3 courts sessions] and lots of paper shuffling) do not dissuade anyone from breaking the law and then it begins all over again. As 'Justice' Hicks has amply demonstrated with this ruling, everyone seem to be just "going through the motions" and we all pay the price. The 'People', including Marilyn Laursen's family, asked for 4 years; he is sentenced to 24 months (less a day), possibly out in 8 months, exactly what his lawyer had sought - the revolving door continues. Also, what about holding the girlfriend and mother of his child, Carleigh Merritt, responsible for aiding him by filing a false stolen auto report and failing to turn him into the police after she found out what he had done.
   Haven't we had enough - Shirley Bond, the Attorney-General of B.C., must instruct the Crown to appeal this sentence!?! The RCMP (35 officers at one time) and courts (3 separate hearings) invested significant resources and for what?! We need to have a victim surcharge in place to make the guilty pay some of the costs of bringing them to 'justice'!


I have to ask - how many of you really believe that either the government or the legal system has taken any action to correct these severe failings within the system? Witness the outcome of this similarly tragic case which was dealt with about 2 months after the incident commented on above: http://www.peacearchnews.com/news/185065161.html You can see that the comments still favour the perpetrator and there is very little being done to hold the guilty accountable (Ms. Warren will probably be out in less than a year). If this repeated 'wheel-spinning' at the expense of dozens of innocent families bothers you as much as it does me, I implore you to call/email your MLA/MP, the Premier and the Attorney-General and tell them that this is just not acceptable and has to change!

B.C. Justice System Is An Expensive Joke!!!

I submitted the following in response to a new 'feature' run in the local Gobal/Canwest newspaper because the original piece offered such a clear contrast between what I think most of us expect from our justice system and what we are actually receiving. Of course, even with such a short item, they still edited it since I guess they felt I was 'laughing my head off'. Is it not about time that we get off this merry-go-round and look seriously at what we are actually accomplishing with the system and how much it is costing us to get those results? The whole thing reminds me of the old Foghorn-Leghorn cartoon which regularly pits a small chickenhawk against a very large chicken. In spite of all their battles, at the end of the day, they each punch their time clocks, say 'goodnight' to each other and then head home. It must be extremely frustrating for anyone in the system who actually wants to see criminals held accountable, would-be criminals deterred and the cost of operating the system at least partially paid for by those convicted.

Dear Editor,
What with all of the bad news that we constantly receive through the media (murders, pandemics, scandals, essential service cuts), it was a welcome change to read your new feature, Court News (Nanaimo Daily News, November 26) - I just couldn't stop laughing! A "$250 fine for theft under $5000" - ho, ho, ho, hee, hee. "(P)ut on probation for one year on a count of theft over $5,000" - tee hee, yuk, yuk, yuk. "(G)iven one day in jail for obstructing police and breaching a court order" - snort, guffaw, chortle. "(F)ined $1000 and prohibited from driving... for one year for driving while suspended", ha, ha, ha, oh, my sides are starting to hurt! "(F)ined $800 and prohibited from driving for one year on a count of driving while impaired" - no, stop, you're killling me... (or very well might be)!