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The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences.
Sentencing In The States: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Julie Stewart
Sentencing In The States: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Julie Stewart
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Mandatory sentencing laws are responsible for the booming prison population in the United States. They are applied most frequently to crimes involving drugs and mandate harsh penalties of five, ten, twenty years or more behind bars for crimes involving no violence. Julie Stewart, President of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation (FAMM) and the sister of a marijuana user who spent five years in a federal prison, describes the unfairness of America’s sentencing policies, with a particular emphasis on the application of mandatory minimum sentences to drug-related convictions. These laws have led to a marked increase in the number of …