The Canadian Justice System And Capital Punishment

The Criminal Justice System has many components that make it up. There are many differences and similarities between Canada and America like the culture, religion, and governments. Some of the main differences and similarities being the Criminal Justice System. The Criminal Justice System is the law that is related to arresting, sentencing and punishing people if found guilty with jail time, probation, or community service. In this research paper, I will be stating some of the main differences and similarities between the Canadian and American Judicial System.

Capital punishment is crime's most dreaded consequence, death. Hanging was Canada's form of capital punishment up until 1976 when it was abolished. Webster's Dictionary defines capital punishments as: "The penalty of death for the commission of a crime." (Webster's, 1994, 43). The chance of capital punishment being reinstated in Canada has been very slim up until now. Recently the Canadian Alliance Party has put forth efforts to reinstate it, which has put the controversial topic back up for debate. This has divided many Canadians concerning their beliefs. Capital punishment should never be reinstated in Canada as it is a barbaric practice that is unjust. This essay will clearly demonstrate that reinstating capital punishment

was stabbed five or six times, and then hanged on a hook in the Grand Jury room.” This shows

As Ghandi once said, “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty”. Canada is a society based around democracy; if the government grants themselves the absolute power to end a person’s life with a single sentence, there are bound to be negative repercussions. It is human nature to makes mistakes, but it is a virtue to learn from them. Instead of resulting to the death penalty as a punishment for committing a serious crime, society should have faith in that person’s ability to change, improve, and be rehabilitated. Moreover, the death penalty is an ineffective way to punish criminals when it comes to serious crimes. If anything, it is an escape for those who have no remorse for their actions. There is no reason to end the life of a human being, no matter how malevolent they are, as it does not benefit society in any way, shape, or form. One could argue that the offender would no longer be able to harm others, but that same result could come from a prison sentence. Furthermore, the rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are fundamental human rights that are not subject to a select group of people, but all of humanity. Capital punishment, no matter the reason, is essentially still murder, as the life of another human is being taken. Limitations must be set in order to separate humanity from the criminals it harbors. Society

Canada as a country is always in constant change. Whether it is in government, physicality, entertainment, or economy, Canada is a nation that prides on being unique and receptive to change. But when do these advancements, these abnormalities in comparison to neighboring countries, begin to diminish us as a native land? Or is there always an up side to the refinements and revisions Canada continues to make? Would this question be easier to answer if the consequences of our decisions on change were now life or death? To most, it just makes it that much more complicated. However, the topic of capital punishment is a problem that countries have continued to agonize over for decades, including Canada. So in what regards is capital

Most importantly there are no statistics or proven facts that capital punishment deters and protects society from future criminals. In fact in 2004 Canada's homicide rate was 1.95 per 100,000 people (Statistics Canada); this was almost three times lower than that of the United States which came in at 5.6 per100 000 people (U.S. Department of Justice). Though there are other factors influencing homicide rate, it is still and indicator of the deficiency of capital punishment. Trudeau stated in his famous speech of 1976 "If we have reason to believe that hanging will protect society from murder and violent crime, if this cause or relation can be established then hanging is permissible…..having looked at the debates and looked at the statistics now and the passed its obviously not established…..when human life is at stake you solve it in favor of life not death." (CBC Canada)

In 2000, a survey was given to thousands of canadians asking them if capital punishment should be reintroduced or not. The findings of this survey was that 45% of Canadians were in favour of bringing back capital punishment to Canada. In a more recent survey in 2012, 63% of people agreed that capital punishment is sometimes appropriate depending on the circumstance, and 23% of people believed that capital punishment shouldn’t be brought back under any circumstance. Although people have their own opinions, the statistics do not lie. Murder rates in Canada have been slowly dropping since capital punishment has been abolished. The crime rate was at the lowest it has been at in 40 years in 2009. Although these stats do not prove that capital punishment results to a fewer murder rate, it shows that capital punishment is not needed to scare people into committing less crime. Recently in America, a big poll was done to see how many Americans supported capital punishment, the results were 56% supported. It is not a surprise that a majority supports because since capital punishment is going on in so many states now. 63% viewed the death penalty as a morally justified punishment for murder, most 71% said there is some risk of executing innocent people. This is very true because there has been many cases innocent people have been executed even though they haven’t done. A majority

They were found guilty for murder. And finally they were hung, for a murder and a robbery with a profit of $50. The execution takes place at January the 14th; ‘the Kansas Supreme Court decreed that their lives must end between midnight and 2: 00 a. m., Wednesday, April 14, 1965.’

In the United States, more than 2 million Americans are behind bars (Wagner, Rabuy). The massive amount of incarecerated in the United States has brought on massive spending by the government both federally and locally in order to house so much growing prison population. In fact, during the past 30 plus years the spending on prisons and pennial system has grown three times as much as spending on public education (Wikipedia).

The average cost of housing an inmate is approximately $20,000 to $30,000 per year. This price tag comes at the direct expense of public money that could be spent on public education, medical care and public assistance. And it is one reason why so many states face fiscal crises today. The state of California spends 2.5 times more money housing and feeding its inmates than it does educating students.The current unemployment rate in the US is high. And if we factored in all the people who are not looking for work because they are behind bars, it would be higher especially among young black Americans and people without a high school

As the amount of nonviolent drug offenders increases, so does the amount of prisoners in jail. With only 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has 25 percent of the world’s total prison population. Between 1980 and 2013, the amount of people in federal prison for drug offenses has increased from 4,749 to 100,026, and the total federal prison population as increased almost 790 percent. To manage the sharp increase in the inmate population in recent years, the bureau that manages the federal prisons has resorted to putting two or three bunks in a cell, and converting recreational spaces into sleeping quarters. As the prisons become increasingly overcrowded, it hinders correction officers’ ability to do there job and ensure that inmates are kept nonviolent and facilities are in safe conditions. Without the proper supervision of law enforcement, prisons become extremely dangerous for both inmates and officers. And as the number of inmates rises, so does the cost to house all of them. According to the National Institute of Justice, the cost of building a prison ranges from $60,000 to $75,000 per inmate, with the average prison’s operating cost being about $60 per day per inmate. Where does this money to house prisoners come from you may ask? The answer is simple: the federal budget, which is largely funded by you, the average taxpayer. Along with the issue of increasing prison-housing costs, the rehabilitation programs available to inmates are usually the first

“The total number of death penalties between 1867 and 1971 is 1481. The total number of executions is 710, 697 men and 13 women” (February 10, 1956). So many men and women died, some innocent, some guilty. However no crime is big or bad enough that it should take someone’s life away. Who are they to judge whether or not we should keep our lives, they were not the ones who gave it to us. And in the situation that they do kill an innocent person, they should die as well for murder, like the law states. Finally we do not have to live like this, “The argument against the death penalty eventually won Canadians over and the practice was abolished in 1976. Sadly this was after Wilbert Coffin” (February 10, 1956). After 104 years of executions and wrongfully committed victims who lost their lives for a crime they never committed, finally the eyes of society have been opened and people realized this practice was

The Canadian Criminal Justice System is a system that is rooted in fairness, justice, and equality. It does not discriminate against religion, sex, or race, and it is governed by the rule of equity. All this would suggest that the Canadian Criminal Justice System is one that Canadians can have faith in, knowing that the system will protect everyone: society from the criminals, and innocent people from wrongful incarceration. It is interesting, then, that Canadians actually have quite little faith in the system; a study done by Ipsos-Reid for Justice Canada revealed that “only 17 per cent of respondents had high confidence, while 61 per cent had moderate faith and 22 per cent had low level of trust [in the adult criminal justice system]… and only 15 per cent had a high level, 56 per cent had a moderate level and 30 per cent have low confidence [in the youth justice system].” (Harris) It is through cases such as the Steven Truscott case, the Coffin case, and the Karla Homolka case that Canadian faith in the Justice System weakens, cases where the two former individuals were wrongfully convicted of their charges, and where the latter was given a lenient sentence.

killed the police officer, J.D. Tippit, and he was later charged for the assassination of the

For those who are simply interested in the costs, it may be fairly surprising. It is a common and misconceived ideal that incarceration is a cheap and easy way to contain criminals, in this case juveniles. However, due to the fact that the incarceration itself has not in any way hindered criminal activity rates or decreased juvenile recidivism, taxpayers are simply investing more money into these detention facilities and court proceedings than what is realized. Let’s look at a specific detention facility for example. The Cook