Plan B Forum

Despite historically low crime rates, Canada is expected to spend $9.5 billion to build new prisons and retrofit old ones — a figure that has Conservative politicians scrambling to justify the cost. Last week, Treasury Board Minister Stockwell Day suggested Canada needs more prisons because of an “increase in the amount of unreported crime.”

Gob wrote:Maybe they want to fill the prisons with the uncaught perpetrators of the unreported crimes.

There you go being soft on crime again

And those of us who do not share that mistrust must believe that the system's outcomes are "absolutely" correct. You know, like the acquittal of O.J. Simpson ....

Andrew D wrote:No, I just have a healthy mistrust of our "criminal justice" system's ability to produce correct results.

And those of us who do not share that mistrust must believe that the system's outcomes are "absolutely" correct. You know, like the acquittal of O.J. Simpson ....

Lord Jim wrote:Take the Italian system for example. I sure as hell wouldn't want their jury system; where there are only seven members, only a majority is required to convict, and worst of all, the judge actually sits on the jury.

In Italy, a Civil Law jurisdiction, a "popular Jury" is present only in the Corte d'Assise, where two career magistrates are supported by six so-called Lay Judges, whom are raffled from the registrar of voters.

Any Italian citizen, with no distinction of sex or religion, between 30 and 65 years of age, can be appointed as a Juror; in order to be eligible as a Juror for the Corte d'Appello, however, there is a minimum educational requirement, as the Juror must have completed his/her education at the Scuola Media (junior high school) level, while said level is raised for the Corte d'Assise d'Appello (appeal level of the Corte d'Assise) to the Scuola Superiore (senior high school) degree. In the Corte d'Assise, decisions are taken by the stipendiary judges and "Lay Judges" or jurors together at a special meeting behind closed doors, named Camera di Consiglio ("Counsel Chamber"), and the Court is subsequently required to publish written explanations of its decisions within 90 days from the verdict.

The Corte d'Assise has jurisdiction to try crimes carrying a maximum penalty of 24 years in prison or life imprisonment, and other serious crimes; felonies that fall under its jurisdiction include terrorism, murder, manslaughter, severe attempts against State personalities, as well as some matters of law requiring ethical and professional evaluations (ex. assisted suicide), while it generally has no jurisdiction over cases whose evaluation requires knowledges of Law which the "Lay Judges" generally don't have. Penalties imposed by the court can include life sentences.