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Published Letters: 20
Editor's Choice: 1
I am not sure if we give lighter sentences for sex crimes or not in general, but it may be so. We certainly don't have the death penalty (although Steven Harper would like to change that). My first post on this topic mentions that I think the sentence was too light. I was referring to circumstances before the crime was commited not sentencing and referring to comments by other posters.
I had a friend who was literally grabbed off the street and driven to a rural area and raped. She was told she would be killed as well and only her wits and luck seemed to save her. "Luckily" he gave her a nose bleed so when he was found there was hard DNA evidence that he was the offender. For that he got 7 years. I think that is appauling. It would also indicate to me that this judge either sentenced at the low end of the scale or that in my friend's case the rapist was a repeat offender (which would make a mere 7 years even more horrifying).
I do know that there is a huge push on to put in place harsher punishments for any sex crimes involving children and that that legislation is likely to pass. We currently have a minority Conservative government who wants to put that bill through and no other party is going to force an election over a bill like that. It would be political suicide. If they try and push through the death penalty that would almost certainly force an election.
