Father of murder victim applauds Tories' justice proposalLast Updated: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 | 12:03 PM CT Comments17Recommend13
CBC News
A Winnipeg man whose son was murdered welcomes the changes to the federal justice system promised Monday by the campaigning Conservatives.
Under Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's proposal, young people 14 and over found guilty of crimes such as manslaughter, murder or aggravated assault would face tougher sentences, and no longer have their identities protected.
The act currently forbids the release of young offenders' identities, unless the accused are found guilty and handed adult sentences.
Judges would also be allowed, under the Tory proposal, to decide whether a young offender who is convicted again for a less serious crime should be identified.
Floyd Wiebe, whose son T.J. was murdered in Winnipeg 2003, says offenders should be named, whatever their age.
"While my son's five or six court cases were going through, my son's name was dragged through the press as being a drug dealer, etc... So was the young offender that had him murdered, that planned his murder, and yet his name has never been public," he said.
Two men were convicted of second-degree murder in Wiebe's killing; a third was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. A fourth man, who was a youth at the time of the killing, was acquitted. His name has never been revealed.
"Here he is, walking [free] — in fact, I just met him at Home Depot just a couple of months ago — and the public doesn't know who he is. I find that offensive."
Having been acquitted, the youth's name would still not be revealed under Harper's proposals.
Naming offenders like 'branding them for life'
Kelly Holmes, executive director of Resource Assistance for Youth in Winnipeg argues that naming young offenders even after they are convicted of serious crimes will make it more difficult for them to find their way back to a law-abiding path.
"There's not one youth that I know that doesn't make mistakes. It's a part of their learning and growing," she said.
"Yes, some [mistakes are] serious, but to have them identified is like tattooing them or branding them for life. How do they recoup that, or how do they change? Or how do they grow with that on their back?"
It's more productive to invest in programs for young people, Holmes said.
The Conservatives also vowed to extend the youth gang prevention fund established in early 2007 and increase its budget to $10 million a year. The fund provides communities with money to combat street gangs.
Almost 40,000 youths were accused of serious and violent crimes in 2006. The crimes included nearly 160 murders or attempted murders, 2,100 sexual assaults and 4,500 robberies.
