Thank you. The Criminal Lawyers' Association welcomes the opportunity to appear before this committee on the fundamentally important issues raised in Bill S-6.
The Criminal Lawyers' Association is a non-profit organization that was founded on November 1, 1971. Our organization represents approximately 1,000 criminal defence lawyers across the province of Ontario. The objectives of the organization are to educate, promote, and represent the membership on issues relating to criminal and constitutional law.
While the Criminal Lawyers' Association supports the proposition that offenders who have committed murder should only be released if they do not pose an undue risk to reoffend, we believe the amendments to the faint hope clause, as contemplated by Bill S-6, do not advance this goal. In particular, I ask you to note the points that follow.
First, all of the government's new crime legislation is designed to bring public accountability to the criminal justice system and restore public confidence. The faint hope provisions are about public confidence. It is the public--the jury--that hears the evidence and makes the decision.
Second, much has been said about the revictimization that is caused by the current faint hope provisions. We must remember that the convictions, by definition, are at least 15 years old before the matter gets to the jury. The convictions themselves are not in dispute. The person has either pleaded guilty or has been found guilty. This is a prime opportunity for victims to see what progress the offender has made over those intervening years.
Third, the provisions provide a much-needed incentive for convicted persons to fully utilize rehabilitation and programming while in custody. The offenders most likely will be released eventually; it is in our interest that they remain motivated to rehabilitate themselves.
Fourth, as noted in the legislative summary of Bill S-6, as of April 13, 2009, 991 lifers were eligible to apply for judicial review. There have only been 174 court decisions made, resulting in the reduction of sentences in 144 cases. It would appear that only those offenders who have the best chance of success are applying for a reduction of parole ineligibility.
Fifth, the National Parole Board did grant release in 131 cases, although we have no information as to how many hearings it took after the reduction in parole ineligibility for the offender to achieve some sort of interim release.
Sixth, I believe you just heard some of these statistics previously, but of the seven offenders who had their full parole revoked, two were revoked for breach of conditions, three for new, non-violent offences, and two for new, violent offences. Of the seven offenders who had their day parole revoked, five were revoked for breach of conditions, one for a new, non-violent offence, and one for a new, violent offence. Thus, the overwhelming majority of lifers who are released do not reoffend.
Finally, it is our position that the current vetting procedure in subsection 745.6(1) is sufficient to ensure that frivolous applications do not make it before a jury.
Thank you very much.