# Murder, Mail Theft Get Similar Sentences In Canada's Courts



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

“EDMONTON - Alberta Justice will not appeal the sentences of four young men convicted in connection to the slaying of 17-year-old Shane Rolston at a Sherwood Park house party in November 2005.
Three men who were 18 at the time of the killing -- Justin Bridges, Jonathan Giourmetakis and Josiah Lawson -- pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon. All three were served with conditional sentences to be served in the community.
"We looked at the facts of the case," he said. "We believe there are no legal grounds to appeal."
To have legal grounds for appeal, the judge must make an error in law or principle, too much or too little emphasis must be given to sentencing factors or the sentence must be "demonstrably unfit," Dear said.
The Crown prosecutor's office has determined the sentences did not fit any of those criteria, Dear said.”

So, murderers go unpunished again and the crown agrees with it? “or the sentence must be "demonstrably unfit," Dear said.” The sentence screams demonstrably unfit" for God’s sake. Incredible.  

Full story:

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourn....html?id=f400ef5a-5c1b-48d6-839e-adab7221df7c

It seems in Canada, stealing mail and killing people deserve a similar punishment. Idiotic:

“RED DEER - Two former letter carriers who pleaded guilty to the theft of more than three years' worth of mail in Innisfail have been given 12-month suspended sentences.
Brenda Meszaros, 50, and her daughter, Chaylene Meszaros, 25, pleaded guilty in October to one count each of mail theft.”

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=6bacff37-a261-4c3b-9e2f-b52ade58d7b7


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## martman (May 5, 2005)

{sarcasm}Oh I disagree with a judges decision! The entire legal system needs to be overhauled. Judgeships should be politicized that way media reactions will be factored into sentences. One bad judge means all should be accountable to the whims of uninformed people who only look at the sentence and no other factors in deciding whether a punishment was "fair or not". Lord know the Calgary and Edmonton Sun should be the sole arbiter of sentencing in Canada.{/sarcasm}


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

martman said:


> {sarcasm}Oh I disagree with a judges decision! The entire legal system needs to be overhauled. Judgeships should be politicized that way media reactions will be factored into sentences. One bad judge means all should be accountable to the whims of uninformed people who only look at the sentence and no other factors in deciding whether a punishment was "fair or not". Lord know the Calgary and Edmonton Sun should be the sole arbiter of sentencing in Canada.{/sarcasm}


For the record, since you can't read the link yourself, both stories are from the Edmonton Journal. Nothing about the Suns involved.

And the fact remains when you get the same sentence for murder as mail theft, it IS time to fix a badly broken system.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't murder a municipal/provincial court matter (Unless it crosses provincial boundaries, then it's federal)? This would explain the difference in sentancing, as mail theft is a federal crime.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

John Clay said:


> Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't murder a municipal/provincial court matter (Unless it crosses provincial boundaries, then it's federal)? This would explain the difference in sentancing, as mail theft is a federal crime.


Provincial matters include such things as traffic offenses. Both theft and murder fall under the criminal code of Canada.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Papa Harper will take care of you SINC, don't cry... 


And yes, I did the whole case. Here is one of the few times where I think that the sentence was not harsh enough _given the circumstances_.



> *Crown prosecutor Greg Marchant accepted the reduced plea because it could not be proven that the teen intended to kill Rolston.
> 
> “Unfortunately, there is no evidence establishing who struck the blow that killed Mr. Rolston,” said Marchant.*
> 
> ...


http://lastlinkontheleft.com/e2005rolston.html#061206


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## martman (May 5, 2005)

There are many cases where I don't think the punishment fits the crime and it goes both ways. I just don't think elected judges are a good thing as they are beholden to too many people making them more likely to be instruments of revenge and bias. The British system makes sure that judges are not politicized and this works better. As I've said before judges make unpopular sentences in the US too. No judge will ever be able to please everybody all the time. 

My bad! This time you chose the journal. The point is that trail by media is absolutely no solution no matter how much you seem to push this way.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

martman said:


> There are many cases where I don't think the punishment fits the crime and it goes both ways. *I just don't think elected judges are a good thing as they are beholden to too many people making them more likely to be instruments of revenge and bias.*


Agree fully - and think that elected judges would be a step backwards.
I'm glad this week that Florida and California have suspended the death penalty and hope that support for it is waning.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

martman said:


> My bad! This time you chose the journal.


It is the only paper I subscribe to, and I rarely see the Sun except in a waiting room.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Murder, Mail Theft Get Similar Sentences In Canada's Courts*

SINC, what's your point? Are you weighing your options?


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

SoyMac said:


> *Murder, Mail Theft Get Similar Sentences In Canada's Courts*
> 
> SINC, what's your point? Are you weighing your options?


You bet, if I do decide to do anything, I'll murder someone. You do less time for that.


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## MasterBlaster (Jan 12, 2003)

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