Minimum mandatory sentence violates Charter rights, says Ontario judge

An Ontario judge struck down a mandatory minimum sentence foreshadowing trouble for the Conservative’s tough on crime bill.

According to the Huffington Post Leroy Smickle was sentenced to serve his community for one year rather than serve a three-year mandatory minimum jail sentence for possessing an illegal firearm.

Smickle was a first time offender using his cousin’s gun as a prop while taking Facebook photos of himself. Ontario Superior Court Judge Anne Molloy thought the minimum sentence would be cruel and unusual punishment in Smickle’s case.

The ruling signals the possibility of future judicial attacks on the Tory’s new crime bill on the basis of unconstitutionality. 

Bill C-19 is currently making its way through Senate and includes new minimum sentences for drug and sex offences.