If many average Canadians think a large swath of our judiciary is out of touch, I give you B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crossin.
The “learned” judge weighed in last week that a section of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional because, uh, it treats everyone convicted of first-degree murder the same.
There are no discounts for only killing one. And as the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, you only get that sweet deal if you kill lots and lots of people.
And Judge Crossin has reached for that old chestnut “cruel and unusual punishment” — contained in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — the Canadian judiciary’s timeless excuse for giving killers, rapists, and illegal immigrant criminals a break.
But what of Caroline Bernard, a beloved high school teacher? Does she matter? Does her family? Does the community?
Luciano Emilio Mariani, 45, was her bitter ex-boyfriend, throbbing with resentment she had an abortion.
Recommended video
On Aug. 31, 2021, Mariani entered Bernard’s Bowser, B.C. home while she slept. He then proceeded to batter the 41-year-old to death while her daughter lay beside her. She died en route to the hospital. The cause was numerous blows to the head from a bat.
Court heard Mariani searched for the term “domestic murders.” He also searched, “when you wanna kill your ex,” “I can’t believe you made me kill you,” “time needed to kill someone with a baseball bat,” “killing someone with a baseball bat,” and “what to do if you believe an eye for an eye and your child was killed?”
In 2023, Mariani was convicted of first-degree murder after pleading guilty. In Canada, that’s a life sentence without the possibility of applying for parole for 25 years.
While Crossin’s decision has no immediate affect on Mariani’s sentence, it could have wide-ranging implications if it goes unchallenged. There is no word yet on whether the Crown plans to appeal.
It appears Judge Crossin determined he would be the white knight in the twisted tale of Luciano Emilio Mariani who challenged the law requiring him to serve 25 years before parole eligibility.
And here’s where the Canadian judiciary ties itself in knots with more skill than a bondage master.
Lotusland legalist Crossin fretted that the infamous “faint hope” regime had been overhauled. Amendments in 2011 effectively torpedoed killers from applying for a reduction “in their parole ineligibility period.”
To Judge Crossin, the math didn’t add up. After all, why should someone who only killed one person get the same sentence as spree and serial killers?
Indeed!
Another question is why these same multiple killers get a 2-for-1 or a 5-for-1 or a 10 for the price of one? The judge seems to say, it’s not fair, hovering dangerously close to … “cruel and unusual.”
“[The] principle of proportionality demands that offenders that have victimized one person receive a different sentence,” Crossin said, adding that the “moral culpability” and “gravity” of mass murder or serial murders is wa-a-a-a-y different from killers who murder just once.
Before the brutal murder, Mariani wrote: “I can’t believe you made me kill you.”
The B.C. Prosecution Service said the law could still be “saved” by the Charter’s reasonable limits clause, but a hearing has not been set. And for the Canadian judiciary, “reasonable” is a naughty word.
In 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that sentence stacking — no freebies for murder — was unconstitutional and … ahem … cruel and unusual punishment.
That let charmers like Dellen Millard, triple cop killer Justin Bourque and countless other fiends get a discount for multiple murders.
It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll get sprung, but it remains a possibility.
And for the killing inclined, in Canada hope springs eternal.
@HunterYOSun