Canada's Justice System

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Imagine that you are a suspect of murder in 1892. You have no solid evidence that you are innocent, but there is no evidence that you're guilty either. No matter how much you argue, you are sentenced to a public hanging even though you didn't commit the crime. This is one example the Criminal Code of Canada would have sentenced you to if they suspected that you committed manslaughter. The Criminal Code of Canada is a book of laws that was developed in 1892. It determines sentences for certain crimes and thankfully, it has been revised numerous times. It is a big part of the Canadian justice system. The system is fair-minded now since the death sentence is forbidden, sentences are equal for both sexes, and children are persecuted differently from adults.

The death penalty, also known as the “capital punishment”, used to be legal in Canada. Most people were publicly hanged. After the Confederation of Canada, the reasons people were hanged were minimized and so only three crimes resulted in execution; rape, murder, and high treason. Although it wasn’t long after the Criminal Code of Canada was made that confederation occurred. Confederation which occurred in 1867 was when the provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec united to form Canada. Joseph-Albert Guay (more commonly known as “Albert Guay”) was a man who got hanged on January 12th, 1951. He lived in Quebec City and was responsible for bombing a passenger flight on September 9, 1949, killing 23 people and his wife Rita, the intended victim. The crime was called “Guay’s Affair”. He was accompanied by Marguerite Pitre, the last woman hanged in Canada. She died on January 9, 1953 in Montreal, Quebec. They were only two of the 710 people who were executed in Canada...

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...ce system more selectively, reduced the overdependence on confinement, and increased therapy of young people into the community following custody. The Youth Criminal Justice Act respects the younger persons of Canada. A number of new sentences for youths were created. It replaced transfers to adult court with a system that had some of the adult sentencing. All trials took place in a youth court and under certain circumstances a youth would receive an adult sentence. The Youth Justice Act is beneficial to the youth justice system.

Overall, the Criminal Code of Canada is more just than it used to be. People are offered second chances to change for the better rather than being executed for their crimes. Criminals are sentenced equally regardless of gender. Minors and adults are judged differently. Where would society be if people still got hanged over stealing a cow?

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