Smart Justice Network:
Dec 14, 2023 – Missed opportunity…
Toronto Star – Jacques Gallant
Toronto sex assault case tossed over Ottawa’s failure to appoint Superior Court judges – “Had the judicial positions in Toronto been filled, this case and others would not have been delayed,” wrote Justice Maureen Forestell
Justice Maureen Forestell stayed the charges of sexual assault against a Toronto man first charged in December 2021, on the grounds that a shortage of judges for Superior Court prevents a court date until February 2024. “The man’s jury trial could not take place as scheduled this past April because there was no judge available to hear it; the next date available to the court and lawyers was in February 2024. Forestell concluded that the delay between the man’s arrest and the anticipated conclusion of his case violated his constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable time.” https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/toronto-sex-assault-case-tossed-over-ottawa-s-failure-to-appoint-superior-court-judges/article_7f1c5c56-99c8-11ee-a712-175c3083ca5d.html?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=bn_205423
Justice Policy Institute (US)
Missed Opportunities: Why Inaction on Preventative Measures Undermines Public Safety in Washington, D.C.
Missed opportunities may well be the only appropriate and accurate explanation for the failure to both recognize the futility of our crime fighting and the failure to adopt known measures to change the system. The Justice Policy Institute is looking at Washington, DC, but every town can look at the steps. “A nearly decade-long failure of the Bowser Administration to fund and implement evidence-based strategies to prevent violence and strengthen communities has contributed to the context for increased crime and violence…Immediate steps the mayor should take to improve neighborhood public safety include: Improve coordination between agencies working to prevent and address violent crime; Focus comprehensive resources on the specific people at the center of violence; Implement a holistic public health approach to violence prevention and intervention and invest in supports and services in communities disproportionately impacted by crime and legal system involvement; Fund efforts to build community trust and efficacy in policing; and Evaluate and sustain effective programs and initiatives.” https://justicepolicy.org/research/missed-opportunities-why-inaction-on-preventative-measures-undermines-public-safety-in-washington-d-c/ Blog from Irvin Waller on crime prevention: “Yes US @OJPgov launches ten key points to reduce violence with its #violencecrimereduction roadmap, but overlooks the need to be inspired by proven solutions in US DOJ http://crimesolutions.gov. Sadly, it also overlooks an impressive consensus among governments across the world on how to implement those proven solutions. Yes, some of the key points are important, but stopping violent victimization deserves adequate and sustained funding among other essentials. It is time to fund training for community safety planners to apply these key points and others well established internationally. It is also time to fund ways to raise awareness even more about what is proven to stop violence before it happens.” @Abt_Thomas https://x.com/IrvinWaller/status/1734752038326510000?s=20 Blog from Vera Institute of Justice Podcast – Aaron Littman, Alicia Virani and Nicholas Shapiro – Don’t fall for the fear mongering. LA County’s bail policy isn’t threatening public safety. https://www.dailynews.com/2023/11/11/dont-fall-for-the-fear-mongering-la-countys-bail-policy-isnt-threatening-public-safety/ Related article: Worth Rises – Connect Families Now (US) The cost of phone calls is tearing families apart… For decades, families have struggled to stay connected with incarcerated loved ones due to the high cost of phone calls. In the end, many can’t afford to. And it is particularly isolating for the one in 28 children with a parent in prison or jail. https://connectfamiliesnow.com/
Slate.com (US) – Nitish Pahwa
The Robber Barons of Prison Tech – Meet the name-changing, monopoly-holding, profit-raking companies that control what it’s like to be in prison.
The link offers an update on what is happening to the prison communications, including telephone, e-mail, video conferencing and tracking of the conversations of the incarcerated. Equally upsetting is the fact that much of these communications are monopoly like operations with several points for profit insertions and sharing with government players. The scope of the potential is staggering: “In other words, these companies weren’t selling just phone calls. They were also selling improved ways to monitor and track those calls—and taking a cut of the fees that prisoners and their loved ones were charged for making them. It was good business: By 1995, nearly 90 percent of the country’s prisons shared some profits with private telecoms firms. A survey from the time, published by the American Correctional Association, found that 31 corrections departments raked in about “$96.4 million in commission revenues from inmate telephone calls.” https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/prison-telecom-gtl-viapath-jpay-securus-private-equity.html?s=03
Blog from Hannah Riley on the Rico charges against Cop City protestors (US): “Ayla King – who was 18 when she was arrested attending a festival in the Weelaunee Forest – is the first person to be tried in the Cop City RICO. A jury is seated, and her trial is tentatively set to begin January 10, 2024. There are 60 (!!) more people in the RICO. What a mess…. Her warrant for arrest was a copy/paste job that accused lots of the people arrested at the festival of having “shields” (?) and “muddy shoes” (they were in the woods.) just a scary purely political prosecution of a very young person.” https://x.com/hannahcrileyy/status/1734643715178643772?s=20
Change.org – Matthew Behrens
Please Sign! Urgent: Canada Must Issue Permits to Leave Gaza for 4 Grandchildren of Canadian Family
The link is asking for your signature for petition to do what Canadians are already committed to do, namely, to facilitate the unification of family in the immigrant process. Mohammed Nofal wants to bring to Canada his grandchildren and their parents currently stranded in Gaza. “Shamefully, an individual from EWRC/Global Affairs Canada called to say that – in a continuation of a shameful Canadian tradition rooted in the discriminatory forced separation of Indigenous children from their parents – GAC could assist in the evacuation of the four grandchildren, But not for those kids’ parents.” Read further and Sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/ahmed-hussan-grant-syrian-refugee-and-ottawa-resident-dima-siam-permanent-residency-in-canada/u/32172928?cs_tk=Al2cgFfD-CdpAXNHgmUAAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvF_ZsUhbEXRJUjnrpnE1o5E%3D&utm_campaign=bcb83517329340cea919fa2679f6a786&utm_content=control_v0_7_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs
Common Dreams.org – Jake Johnson
Final COP28 Deal Riddled With ‘Cavernous Loopholes’ for Fossil Fuel Industry – “While this agreement offers faint guidelines toward a clean energy transition, it falls far short of the transformational action we need,” said one campaigner.
As a result of a desperate overnight negotiation delegates to the COP28 were able to include in the final statement a weakly worded announcement construed as the end of the fossil fuel era. But, says Johnson, that declaration is filled with ‘cavernous loopholes’ for continued resistance form the fossil fuel industries. “The finaltext “calls on” nations to “contribute” to a number of global efforts, including tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, accelerating the “phase-down” of “unabated coal power,” and “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner… so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/cop28-final-deal?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=b366ca8ed1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_13_12_50&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-b366ca8ed1-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D Final Text: Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement Fifth session United Arab Emirates, 30 November to 12 December 2023 https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17_adv.pdf (A 21-page downloadable pdf)
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Should remorse be a factor in sentencing?
Webster cites a former magistrate and a former probation officer who operate ‘Revolving Doors,’ an organization which functions as an advisory to the Sentencing Council. The issue is often part of the sentencing judge’s remarks in noting whether the convicted person show remorse for his or her actions. Beyond the question about what remorse is, there is the further issue about how to determine if a defendant is showing remorse or not. Here is their thoughtful challenge: “We believe remorse is an unreliable and potentially unjust criteria for sentencing and should be used with caution. Instead of relying on remorse as a decisive element in sentencing, a more equitable approach involves prioritising evidence-based evaluations of an individual’s circumstances. Emphasising rehabilitation and addressing root causes of criminal behaviour could lead to more just and effective sentencing practices… Ultimately, a shift towards understanding and addressing underlying issues might pave the way for a more equitable justice system. https://www.russellwebster.com/remorse-what-is-it-good-for/