A. Alan Borovoy, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, in the [Canadian] National Post, says the sentence of Robert Latimer should be commuted.

The Saskatchewan farmer is serving a life sentence for killing his daughter Tracy, who had cerebral palsy. Latimer has described the killing as an act of mercy.

Some commentators have contended that, unless this man serves the full sentence, people with disabilities are “not going to sleep very well.” But even if Latimer’s sentence were reduced, anyone contemplating a similar misdeed would have to reckon with the kind of legal ordeal that he has suffered — by now, some six hearings and substantial time in prison, not to mention the anxiety caused by not knowing what punishment will ultimately be imposed.

Moreover, during the 1990s, there were at least four cases in which (a) the lives of very ill patients had been deliberately extinguished to relieve their unendurable pain, and (b) Canadian courts accepted guilty pleas for offences without mandatory minimums. Spared the requirement of a minimum sentence, the courts decided against any imprisonment in all four cases. Despite this leniency, Canada has hardly seen a spike in killings targeting the disabled. Clemency for Latimer need not create insomnia for anyone.

Regardless of one’s views about Latimer’s initial sentence, it is sheer cruelty to prolong the ordeal now…. there is no reason to believe that he represents the remotest threat to anyone.

Earlier posts start here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 7:26 pm and is filed under commentary, criminal justice, euthanasia/mercy killing, international. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.