Ontario judge sentences handgun trafficker to house arrest after mandatory minimum declared unconstitutional

[u/WetNightmares]

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-judge-sentences-handgun-trafficker-to-house-arrest-after-mandatory-minimum-declared-unconstitutional

[u/JurboVolvo]

We’ve known mandatory minimum sentences were unconstitutional for a while. I don’t actually see how it’s relevant to their obviously way too lax sentencing. House arrest for this this wild and yeah they should be in jail but not using mandatory minimum sentencing.

[u/99spider → u/JurboVolvo]

Mandatory minimums are not universally unconstitutional. They are only unconstitutional when the crime as defined, in its most minor form, produces a level of harm to society that is far below what the minimum sentence would be appropriate for. This generally happens because our laws were written by idiots.

For example, the minimum sentence for discharging a firearm at a dwelling was found unconstitutional because using something like a paintball gun would still fit the definition of the crime.

First degree murder still has a long standing mandatory minimum sentence of life, because no one has successfully argued that a sufficiently minor case of first degree murder could exist to make that punishment unfit for the crime.