Not every inmate has a mental health problem. Some people are just bad people and there are probably more bad people than there are people with mental health problems "on the inside". It's not often people go to jail for being in possession of a little marijuana. It has to be for being in possession of a LOT of marijuana and more often than not - it's a drug stronger than some grass. Let's be real! JLM you think there should be more than one to a cell. Limits regarding how many there are to a prison period, are set. Those darn criminals just don't seem to get it that the cells are full and they need to back off!!!! ;-) Overcrowding occurs. Inmates hurt each other. If one was bent on getting to the other, it would have happened one way or another even with segregation. Sometimes they are segregated for long periods and sometimes for a cooling off period but a cooling off period doesn't mean much to them if they really want to hurt another inmate. Sometimes fights happen. You would be amazed at how many weapons of every kind are found during a search. Find out sometime when a place like Kamloops is having an open house type of day and they will show the kinds of things/gadgets the inmates use to get weapons drugs and more inside.Things the average Joe would never begin to imagine. They do things like empty out a can of pop, fill it with dangerous stuff and get the lid back on and sealed without it ever appearing to be used.
How many times do you want to waste tax payers money sending these people to court via legal aid, let them off so they can re-offend and then let them off with a warning so they can be back the next month.
What about the innocent bystander whose picture was in the news the other day. His throat had been slit from ear to ear. A guy was bothering two women and the X police office (and he was X at the time), told the guy to take a hike. The guy left. Everyone thought it was over but in a couple of minutes, the offender turned around, walked up behind the X policeman and slit his throat. He pled guilty to aggravated assault and was given 2 years in jail and 2 years probation. Luckily, the man whose throat was slit had the presence of mind to stay calm, hold the right places on his own throat and someone else called 911. He is alive today for that reason alone. The original charge was attempted murder. The Crown didn't do it's job and the judge did a worse one.
Why should judges care? They get the same pay no matter how crappy a job they do. They never get in trouble for the crappy job they do of their job. When they finally step down, they still get exactly the same pay for the rest of their lives. Judges should be judged and if they are not doing their job well - then like anyone else - they should be fired and their healthy pensions taken away - for the rest of their lives.
