September 28, 1999
Letter to the Editor - The Record
RE: Drunkenness as a Defence
As
reported in the September 24th edition of The Record, an Ontario
court judge, Judge Patricia Wallace, ruled that it would be unconstitutional
for an accused not to be permitted to use drunkenness as a defence for a
violent crime. This is truly a ridiculous ruling! For drunkenness to be
considered a legitimate defence for assault, rape, murder, or any other heinous
crime is absurd and makes a farce and mockery of our justice system and our
constitution.
One
of the most serious problems that we face in society today is that, children
and adults alike, are increasingly freed from being held accountable for their
behaviour and conduct. This recent ruling will certainly go a long way to
perpetuate this already horrific and growing societal problem. (Apart from the
more universal societal problem, such a ruling is also a travesty for the
individual victims who are violated but where nobody becomes properly
accountable for the crime.) Let’s get back to some common sense justice.
Yours
truly
Randall
F. More, P. Eng
