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JAN 10, 2008 03:18 PM
d20 said:
if we were assigning a value to the victims' lives and exacting a price upon this guy based on it, that wouldn't be justice, it'd be revenge. i think six life sentences is about as strong a statement of "this is wrong" as you can make while still being able to say you're a part of a civilized culture.
once again: it's 25 years before the option for parole. that's built into our system for the same reason that we don't have the death penalty. if, after a quarter of a century, someone can demonstrate that they've been reformed and/or rehabilitated, they get to go free. obviously, the parole law isn't there to make a statement about the victims, it's there to make a statement about the prisoners and whether we think they're still human or not. in this case, the guy is pretty obviously not getting out of jail anytime soon -- people capable of fitting back into society generally don't bury 60 prostitutes in their back yard.
That was a far better explanation than mine. Thank you.
JAN 10, 2008 08:29 PM
J24U said:
Is it sad that the detail that sticks with me is...
Poutine, with onions and bacon. Why the fuck didn't I think of that shit before?
That was the part that stuck out for me too. My first thought was "yum, bacon & onions" quickly followed by "what's Poutine?".
I was then completely unable to concentrate on the rest of the article.
JAN 10, 2008 08:32 PM
GonzoChaote said:
FreakPirate said:
That's how the Canadian law works. You are eligible for parole after a maximum of 25 years. I don't know why. I don't make the laws.
I moved out to Vancouver this fall, so I wasn't here for more than the tail end of the trial, but the general reaction to the conviction was celebration. Yeah, it's great that he got convicted, but divide 25 by 6 and that'll tell you what the Canadian justice system seems to think each of those womens' lives are worth.
What, exactly, is the number of years that a person's life is worth?
d20
San Francisco, CA
September 2003
JAN 10, 2008 11:09 AM