From today's Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/750958--aid-for-the-wrongfully-convicted
It is easy to understand why someone wrongfully convicted would be angry to learn they were not to be compensated for their time in jail.
The problem is that our current system of compensation is based on fault rather than need. It is perfectly possible for someone to be convicted for a crime they did not commit without any fault by the Crown. Like all human systems, the criminal justice system sometimes fails.
The solution, adopted by some U.S. states, is to compensate those wrongfully convicted through no fault of their own without regard to prosecutorial misconduct.
Since cases of wrongful conviction are thankfully rare, such a system of compensation need not be excessively costly.
2 comments:
Compensation for the wrongfully convicted is not necessarily based upon fault. Stephen Truscott is a case in point. (Was that Isobel Lebourdais' son in the Globe's letter column today?)
This is just a mean-minded slap at two people by a Liberal government that prefers cost-cutting to justice. It's a travesty. Bring on the lawsuits (which will cost you and me much more than a humane settlement now).
Well, you're right Dawg in that they can pay -- but they don't have to pay unless there was fault -- but fair nuff!
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