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Remember the terrible story of the two young girls who froze to death in a field in Saskatchewan? This is news. The father has requested a sentencing circle, and the judge has granted this opportunity. Already a rare occurrence, the judge has also ensured that the circle will not happen on the reserve and it will be open to the public and media.
I'm urging you to pay attention to this for a number of reasons. For one thing, it is not common for the accused to request a sentencing circle. It is typically sought after by the community. Sentencing circles are not an easy prospect. Imagine yourself in his situation: you can sit in a courtroom, be handed a sentence, go and serve your time and be done with it. Or, you can sit in a room for any given number of days with everyone who is important to you in your life, everyone you have hurt, and have all your dirty laundry aired out for all to see. Now for anyone with a TV to see, apparently. And in consideration of your past, present and future, a unanimous decision is made in terms of your future. It is not determined according to precedent, to case law, to mandatory minimums or to an impartial and objective entity.
For another thing, to my knowledge it is simply not done with serious crimes. Though this death has the accents of an accident, two young children, babies, really, died in a very disturbing manner. So disturbing that news media carried it nationally for weeks. Sentencing circles are typically done with property crimes that received likely no media attention and are typically very limited circles.
As someone who has been completely captivated by the promise of restorative justice, I will be watching closely to the proceedings and results of this. If this is considered to be successful, the implications would, I think, propel justification in funding such initiatives and agencies devoted to restoring justice in Canadian society.
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| | Posted 1/7/2009 6:14 PM - 1 View - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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