Violent criminal given light sentence due to colonialization will offend again

The following piece written by prolific editorial writer Cory Morgan and Western Standard Senior Columnist is about yet another example of violent indigenous offenders being given an Aboriginal Discount based on the Gladue report.

In 1996, Parliament amended the Criminal Code by inserting clause 718.2(e) requiring courts sentencing offenders to consider “all available sanctions, other than imprisonment, that are reasonable in the circumstances and consistent with the harm done to victims or to the community with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders.” One of the specific goals of this measure was to reduce the number of natives in Canada’s prison system.

Clause 718.2(e) was at the centre of the Supreme Court of Canada’s highly-significant 1999 Gladue decision. Jamie Gladue was an Indigenous woman who killed her common-law husband Reuven Beaver during her 19th birthday party. After the killing, a neighbour heard her exclaim, “I got you, you fucking bastard.”

After pleading guilty to manslaughter, Gladue was given a three-year sentence. She appealed, claiming the trial judge did not sufficiently consider her aboriginal background, as required by clause 718.2(e). On appeal, the Supreme Court found the lower court judge erred in not taking sufficient note of her status as an aboriginal offender living off-reserve.  

As a result of this pivotal decision, trial judges are now directed to request a pre-sentencing report that considers “the unique systemic or background factors which may have played a part in bringing the particular aboriginal offender before the courts; and the types of sentencing procedures and sanctions which may be appropriate in the circumstances for the offender because of his or her particular aboriginal heritage or connection.” This is what’s now known as a "Gladue report." Factors commonly included in Gladue reports include a history of cultural oppression, poverty, abuse and addiction as well as residential school attendance, either by the offender or their ancestors.