Confessions of a Shiftless Mind

From the National Post:

The Conservatives’ plan to reform the use of conditional sentences — legislation the government says is aimed at ensuring serious offenders do serious time — would also put those convicted of crimes such as mail theft and bestiality behind bars.

Good.

But the conditional sentence bill covers a wide range of offences, several of which involve no violence. That’s because the bill bans using conditional sentences for any crime punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years or more in prison…. But it also includes offences such as unauthorized use of a computer, cattle theft, mail theft, bestiality and a wide range of drug offences.

Too fricking bad. Don’t steal mail or cattle, and don’t have sex with unconsenting animals.

Or drugs.

Take them, I mean.

Not have sex with.

“You can’t for a minute think that all offences that have 10 years or more for a sentence are offences that in every situation are serious offences,” said David Paciocco, a criminal law professor at the University of Ottawa.

Actually, yes, you can.

“For some of the non-violent offences, I don’t think there’s any purpose to having someone serve a long time in jail,” said Ms. Fichtenberg, a member of the Canadian Association of Victim Advocates, from her home in Grand Forks, B.C.

I do. You commit the crime, you do the time. It is called consequences. If the penalty seems too harsh for the crime, perhaps you SHOULDN’T DO IT if you don’t want to pay the piper!