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Full-Text Articles in Law
Reforming Homicide Law To Separate Guilt From Sentence: An International Gloss, Steve Coughlan
Reforming Homicide Law To Separate Guilt From Sentence: An International Gloss, Steve Coughlan
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
This article argues that Canadian homicide law is handicapped by trying to combine two contradictory approaches. In general, Canadian criminal law adopts the approach of setting out relatively rigid rules for determining guilt or innocence. That is, the Criminal Code sets out particular offences, and if the elements of an offence can be proven, then failing the presence of any defence (also relatively rigidly defined), any accused will be found guilty. The question of guilt or innocence is not individualized to the circumstances of the offender. On the other hand, sentencing decisions adopt exactly the opposite approach, and are made …
Rodriguez Redux, Jocelyn Downie, Simone Bern
Rodriguez Redux, Jocelyn Downie, Simone Bern
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Assisted suicide has once again surfaced as an issue of public attention. Just in the past year, four cases have been in the news. In addition the results of a major study on the attitudes of cancer patients in palliative care towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and the results of an Ipsos Reid public opinion poll on assisted suicide were released. Vigorous calls both for and against the decriminalization of assisted suicide followed. Given that it has been fifteen years since the release of the most famous assisted suicide case in Canada, and given this recent spate of attention, we …