Canadian Courts too lenient by far.

This story makes me sick.

Leo Teskey is a diagnosed psychopath who has 9 violent crime convictions, including shooting a police officer in the head in 1988 and tearing the penis off a 2 year old in 1992.

In 1995 Crown applied to have him designated a dangerous offender, but failed. Because, I guess, the courts thought he didn't sound all that dangerous.

So in November of 2000 Dougald Miller finds someone squatting in the hallway of a building he owns and goes to toss him out. For this, he is viscously beaten, receiving kicks to the head and having his ear torn off, leaving him a vegetable who cannot move or speak. He is now tube fed and needs to be changed like a baby, requiring 24 hour a day care.

After the beating, Teskey robbed Miller's apartment and took off in his car. The extent of his remorse over the beating includes remarks that Miller can "still dance in a wheelchair and enjoy life".

The courts are now once again hearing arguments on whether this diagnosed psychopath - who, by the way, has refused treatment - should be declared a dangerous offender.

The kicker? Defence's argument is that he had a bad childhood.

This man gave up his rights to freedom long ago. In my opinion, the courts are taking away from the basic rights of average citizens by being too lenient on offenders. Did you know, for example, that in this country sentences are served concurrently? That means that life sentences for multiple murders are all served at once. In effect, after the first killing, the rest are free. And there is always the possibility of parole.

I'm completely in favour of rehabilitation of ciminals, but if you're not going to put the effort in to do that, then you can't just let them back on the street assuming that being locked up with other hardened criminals for years has somehow turned them in to model citizens.

What about our right to be free to feel safe enough to leave our houses after dark? Or in the light? Or even to stay home without being invaded?

Feel free to leave comments if you agree, disagree, think I'm off my rocker, whatever.