I guess a better question would be, can you put a value on your life? If you think about it, the question itself is not only insulting but ludicrous because life itself is all there really is, and without it, anything else that has been deemed of any worth, is worthless.
Ask any individual if someone were to kill a loved one, be it a spouse, parent or child and the answer in many cases is, “An eye for an eye.” I posed this very question to our office staff, and that was the first statement that came out. Followed by “No Freedom” for the offender. When I posed our insulting value question on life, the responses were, “priceless and everything.” The bottom line is that as human beings we cherish our lives and the lives of our family. It would also be fair to say that the feelings we have for our family does transfer somewhat to others, including strangers. That is probably why we look at small children with smiles or practice common courtesy with others in public, which includes stopping for a jaywalker. So we as individuals do value lives.
But, it has become quite clear that we as a society do not value life. Last week Coda William Fika was handed an meager eight year sentence in Edmonton for killing Jeremie Auger. The killing occurred as a result of a dispute over a woman who was romantically linked to both men. During an argument where alcohol was involved, Fika picked up a knife, washed it, then stabbed Auger.
Fika was charged with Second Degree Homicide which carries a mandatory life sentence in Canada. During the proceedings, the charge was reduced to Manslaughter and Fika changed his plea to guilty and agreed to the facts of the case.
The presiding judge sentenced Fika to eight years in jail and credited him with twice the time served while he was remanded in custody, reducing the remaining incarceration by 20 months. Fika will be out of jail in just over six years, unless he is released earlier.
Our justice system has weighed in on Jeremie Auger's value as a human being. Fika will probably be still in his twenties when Canada deems payment is made in full for his crime. For whatever reason the Crown decided that taking the time to proceed with a lengthy trial for homicide was just not worth it. By plea bargaining they were able to save taxpayers some money, save witnesses from having to relive what they saw, and dispense of this sordid affair quickly. Good for them!
Sadly, as sentencing goes in Canada, Fika received a rather stiff one. According to a report of the Research Branch of Correctional Services of Canada the median prison sentence in 2001/02 was 30 days. The same report showed that just six years earlier the median prison sentence was 115 days. Any sentence under 24 months is served under provincial jurisdiction, therefore Fika will serve his sentence in a federal prison.
What are we to make of our justice systems soft handed approach to crime, where the punishment for killing a fellow human being will be all but forgotten by the offender in less than a decade but felt by family for a lifetime?
Did the police bungle the investigation that motivated the Crown to 'cut a deal?' Are the courts so overbooked that Jeremie Auger's death just slipped through the cracks of justice? Has Alberta Justice taken the stance that their mandate is just another rubber stamp process where people are nothing more than a case number? When we witness justice for the death of a fellow human being handled with such bargain basement prices it makes me think that the entire system is lacking. The same system that doubles time served as 'credit coupons' or 'get out of jail free cards' is one that is only trying to save a few meals, and keep beds open in our prisons.
If the average Canadian wants to see stiffer prison terms for violent crimes, why is there so much opposition to our current sentencing reforms being brought forth by the Conservative Government? The reforms for mandatory minimum sentencing that have passed in Parliament have only touched on impaired driving, serious firearms offenses, and organized drug crimes.
Opposition to these changes by the NDP and Liberals have all cited increased costs to the taxpayer if stiffer sentences are legislated. The opposition have gone on record and stated there will be additional prosecutorial costs to mandatory minimum sentences, where these changes will lead to longer sentences behind bars and require additional prison space. One point brought up was that people will not plea bargain because the Crown Prosecutors will have nothing to offer the accused person.
Once again, costs and bargaining tools are brought up. In any financial “Balance Sheet” there are assets and liabilities, where both sides of the balance sheet counter each other. In society, the assets are you and me, the lives that make up Canadian society. On the other side of the Balance Sheet are the liabilities. The criminals, and the costs incurred to deal out a measure of justice. I guess if we devalue human life we have no alternative but to balance justice with equal contempt.
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