Canadá acaba con las penas mínimas obligatorias para los traficantes de drogas
El Tribunal Supremo de Canadá ha dictaminado que las penas mínimas obligatorias para los traficantes de drogas reincidentes son inconstitucionales. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.
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By Manisha Krishnan
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that mandatory minimum sentences for repeat drug traffickers are unconstitutional.
The decision, one of two released Friday morning, overturns a policy brought in under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper that forced judges to hand down a minimum of one year in jail to people who are convicted of more than one trafficking offense within a ten-year period.
A separate ruling also struck down a law that infringed on a judge's ability to give credit for time served prior to a conviction.
Civil liberties advocates argued the laws amount to "cruel and unusual punishment"—a Charter violation—that disproportionately affects drug addicts and marginalized people. They said that the laws also effectively tie a judge's hands when it comes to using discretion during sentencing.
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