OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government is preparing three-strikes-you're-out legislation that would make it easier to label criminals as dangerous offenders after a third serious conviction.
The bill - part of the Conservative anti-crime package - will be tabled this fall, says Justice Minister Vic Toews.
He says that after three convictions for violent crimes, people would have to prove to a judge why they're not dangerous - which is a reversal of the traditional innocent-until-proven-guilty principle.
Toews says criminals should be presumed guilty - not innocent - after three such convictions.
Currently, someone convicted of a violent offence can be declared a dangerous offender after a court hearing initiated by Crown prosecutors.
The dangerous-offender designation is akin to a life sentence, although offenders can begin applying for parole after seven years.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?&src=n092015A.xml
The bill - part of the Conservative anti-crime package - will be tabled this fall, says Justice Minister Vic Toews.
He says that after three convictions for violent crimes, people would have to prove to a judge why they're not dangerous - which is a reversal of the traditional innocent-until-proven-guilty principle.
Toews says criminals should be presumed guilty - not innocent - after three such convictions.
Currently, someone convicted of a violent offence can be declared a dangerous offender after a court hearing initiated by Crown prosecutors.
The dangerous-offender designation is akin to a life sentence, although offenders can begin applying for parole after seven years.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?&src=n092015A.xml