Premier Doug Ford, and his counterparts across Canada, are calling on the federal government to make changes in our bail system – the system that allowed a man charged with firearms offences and assaulting a peace officer to be out on bail when he was accused of murdering OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala.
It must be noted that Randall McKenzie and his co-accused have not been convicted in a court of law.
When the officer was killed on Dec. 28, the two are accused of stealing a car and fleeing – and of shooting Pierzchala moments after he arrived on the scene of a reported car in the ditch.
News of the tragedy caught the attention of the nation. Perhaps it was the time of year, or the fact the young officer was responding to what he thought was a call to help someone. And perhaps it was the final straw in ongoing outrage about one contentious element of Canada’s justice system.
When a first responder is killed on the job, people react with shock – these are our heroes, the people who walk toward danger when the rest of us are running away from it.
That said, Pierzchala was not the first person killed by someone out on bail who should not have been released, and, sadly, he will not be the last. What makes this story different from so many others is the victim is usually a woman, killed by an abusive domestic partner.
Too many of us know how that story goes. He beats her up, not for the first time. A neighbour or one of the kids calls the police – again, not for the first time. However, on this occasion she decides she has had enough and leaves, while he is arrested and charged – and promptly released, usually with conditions he not contact her, etc. Of course, he does, and his next arrest is for her murder.
Bail is part of the basic premise of our legal system, that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Charges are laid if police have enough evidence, and the case eventually ends up in court.
The delay between laying charges and a trial can be months, or even years. If a person is not deemed to be a danger to society or a flight risk, the accused person will not spend that time in jail. They will be released with conditions including “keeping the peace and being of good behaviour.” There may be a bail bond involved, whereby someone provides a sum of money to guarantee the person returns to court when required.
Allowing the person to keep their job, support their family and pay their taxes while awaiting trial makes more sense than incarcerating them – in essence, assuming guilt prior to trial. However, what about protecting society from a person deemed to be a danger?
Presumption of innocence is a right, but bail is not. Unfortunately, it has come very close to becoming so. Our courts routinely release people on bail who are clear risks for committing more crimes.
There is an old saying, that the biggest predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. People like McKenzie tend to reoffend. So do people who have assaulted their spouses repeatedly.
Bravo to Ford for saying enough is enough. Police at every level, and society in general, have been frustrated for years by the courts’ catch-and-release policy. Officers devote untold resources to arresting offenders who belong behind bars, knowing full well many of them will be out before the ink dries on the paperwork.
The accused criminal has rights, and one is the presumption of innocence. However, those rights must be balanced against the rights of victims and the general public – which they are, in theory, but not in fact.
The rights of everyone would be protected by faster trials, but that means investing money. However it is accomplished, change is desperately overdue. One wonders how many abused women and other victims will be killed before it happens.
