The Death Penalty Around the World About 140 countries have permanently abolished the death penalty. Some 50 countries have it on the books but don’t use it; 36 countries continue to use the death penalty, and 22 of these carried out executions in 2013. Japan and the United States are the only … [Read more...]
One Edmonton Youth in Conflict with the Law: A Case Study
We have all been there at one point in time: young, insecure, and impressionable. You would do anything to fit in: wear the right clothes; listen to the proper music; dislike the right people and share the same opinions as all the cool kids. But what if the cool kids were the RCMP acting as … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 39-1: Like hockey, Court’s ‘Mr. Big’ decision clarifies the rule book and the ‘code’
What are Canada’s pre-eminent cultural symbols? Hockey is surely a top contender. The values of the rink are deeply embedded in our broader social values. Another contender is our criminal justice system, which strikes a quintessentially Canadian compromise between individual liberty, and collective … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-6: Limits to “Mr. Big” Stings
Police in Newfoundland suspected that Nelson Hart deliberately drowned his twin daughters but had no proof. They began an elaborate hoax to recruit Mr. Hart into a fictitious crime ring. After about 15 months of activity, it culminated in a meeting with “Mr. Big” who was presented as the head of … [Read more...]
Bench Press: Reid This: Police Tactic Oppressive
The “Reid Technique” was invented in the 1950s by an American company and is used extensively by police forces in North America for interrogating suspects. A Calgary daycare worker was questioned for over eight hours using the technique, after a child at the daycare suffered serious injuries. She … [Read more...]
