Bill C-235
2nd reading · Senate
Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act
This bill would increase the minimum period a person must serve in prison before becoming eligible for parole after being convicted of certain serious crimes, such as the murder and sexual assault of the same victim.
Sponsor · Jeff Kibble
What it means for you
If someone murders and sexually assaults the same person, they would have to wait longer in prison before they could apply for early release, giving victims' families more time before facing parole hearings.
The debate · 6 points
Supporters say
- Families could face fewer parole hearings. Under current law, they may be required to attend a review every two years, sometimes for life. The bill would reduce these hearings and spare families from retelling the crimes.
- Current practice lets prosecutors drop the abduction and sexual assault charges and proceed only on murder, so offenders are effectively sentenced for murder alone. The bill would recognize that three distinct crimes were committed.
- The bill gives judges discretion rather than imposing mandatory sentences. It applies only when abduction, sexual assault and murder are committed against the same victim, is not retroactive, and caps extended parole ineligibility at 40 years, based on the combined consecutive maximums.
Critics say
- Parole ineligibility beyond 25 years may violate the Charter's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The Bissonnette decision struck down consecutive ineligibility periods, partly because they offered no realistic prospect of release.
- Justice Department officials warned that any change to parole ineligibility would be closely scrutinized by the courts under the Charter.
- Some say the bill is incomplete or legally unclear. Proposed amendments would add an offender right of appeal, confirm that the bill is not retroactive, and clarify its scope regarding offences under the military justice system.
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