Sentence doesn't satisfy our society
The Canadian justice system failed society Tuesday when a Moncton court sentenced Valmont LeBlanc to what ends up being a five-year prison term for driving drunk and killing two people, leaving two young orphans.
It is the system at fault here, not the individual players. Judge George Rideout ruled according to sentencing guidelines, precedents and case law, things that combine in many cases to box in the judiciary. The same is true for the Crown and the defence. They were all doing their jobs well and, of necessity, within the parameters of a justice system that is often not serving society well.
Our system tends to seek the lowest common denominator in sentences, a tendency that avoids more court time, "spares" victims more time in court, and often leaves both prosecution and defence lawyers thinking they have "won" the case, or at least obtained the best possible result for all.
Yet in a case in which two people have been killed, their two young children injured and orphaned, society surely expects more. A five year sentence makes life itself dreadfully cheap. And if this is on the severe end of the sentencing spectrum for such a crime -- as it was shown in court to be -- we wonder what sort of horrific tragedy it would take for our justice system to mete out the maximum sentence of 14 years to life?
And how can the trend to concurrent sentencing be justified? In fact, Mr. LeBlanc was sentenced to 16 years: five years for each of the two deaths and three years for causing bodily harm to each of the children. But since the sentences are concurrent, he will serve at very most five years. If ever there was a case crying out for consecutive sentences, one served after the other, this is it. If each crime is truly a crime, then the sentence for each should be served. Sixteen years is the appropriate sentence.
The justice system worked as it is set up to work, and that is precisely the problem. The system itself needs to begin putting a much higher value on human life and sending out a clear message to all in society: if you get behind the wheel of a car while drunk and end up killing others as a result, the consequences will be severe. Individuals must be held fully accountable for the taking of innocent lives.
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I have a question though: "Individuals must be held fully accountable for the taking of innocent lives".
Does that include Dany Heatley? Kids idolize the guy. He drove like a nut job through the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, killing his best friend.
What sentence was he given? Nothing?
Oh right, he had to have a governor on his car, limiting his speed....but he moved out of the court's jurisdiction a day later....so nothing.
And we forgave and cheered on his next goal. And yet nothing from anyone about it.
It's not my fault.....I got a new laptop....LOL!