INJUSTICE BY CANADIAN JUSTICE MINISTERS

The federal Justice Department, under its former Minister Allan Rock and now under its radical feminist Minister, Anne McLellan, is a busy place -- busy working to provide special advantages to women.

Under pressure from the feminist Elizabeth Fry Society, a NAC affiliate, former Justice Minister Allan Rock requested, in 1995, that Ontario judge, Lynn Ratushny, review 100 cases of women convicted of murder or manslaughter of their partners to determine whether their convictions should be altered because they did not have the advantage at the time of their trials of the defence of Battered Woman Syndrome. This syndrome is a legal defence developed in 1990 by former feminist Supreme Court judge, Bertha Wilson in a case in which a woman was found not guilty of shooting her partner in the back of his head at a party while he was walking out the door. Judge Wilson stated that since the woman had been abused and threatened on and off for four years, she was not responsible for her actions. It is important to note that Battered Woman Sydrome can be applied even if the abuse is not necessarily caused by the man who has been killed.

Judge Ratushny recommended that the government take action in seven cases of abused women who had killed their partners. However, Justice Minister McLellan decided instead to grant conditional pardons or to reduce the parole for four of these women convicted of murder or manslaughter. One of these women had killed her victim with a hammer. Another had stabbed her victim.

This decision raises some very disquieting questions about the retroactive overruling of decisions of judges and juries to provide special treatment for politically favoured criminals. In these four cases, the women had been convicted of violent crimes by judges and juries under the law as it existed at that time, and it is improper for a judge or government official to substitute their present judgement for a past, properly conducted trial. Moreover, the cornerstone of our legal system is individual responsibility. These convicted women did not have to account for their actions and instead have been given a privileged position in the law.

It is noted that men can also be abused -- but they are not permitted to use this defence. Something is very wrong with our justice system.

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