A troubling new report from the John Howard Society
If you ever find yourself arrested for a crime you didn’t commit,
hope it happens in Prince Edward Island. At least then you’d have a
decent chance of getting out on bail before your trial. Manitoba would
be your least-preferred option.
A report earlier this month from the John Howard Society of Ontario reveals
a host of problems with bail as it currently operates in that province.
Combined with data from other provinces, it’s apparent our country’s
bail system requires a major overhaul, in the name of fairness and
efficiency, not to mention the concept of innocent until proven guilty.
Bail allows individuals accused of crimes to enjoy their liberty
until a court decides their fate. Unlike the American system of an
upfront cash bail requirement—familiar to anyone who’s ever read an
Elmore Leonard or Janet Evanovich novel, or watched Law & Order—Canadian
bail instead relies on sureties. No money is demanded immediately.
Rather, the accused may be released into the care of a friend or
relative who forfeits a set sum of money if the individual skips town or
otherwise fails to abide by the conditions of his release.
But while the right to “reasonable bail” is enshrined in the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it has become steadily more difficult
to obtain, subjected to an increasing number of unreasonable conditions
and transformed into something akin to extrajudicial punishment.
Read on...
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