
March 31, 2016 · 0 Comments
WE SUSPECT that the 10-year sentence meted out to Marko Muzzo for impaired driving causing four deaths is the longest by a Canadian judge for an accused who pled guilty and was a first offender.
However, most of the attention since Superior Court Justice Michelle handed down the sentence on Tuesday has been on the fact Mr. Muzzo will likely spend only 20 months in a federal prison before being moved to a half-way house for day parole.
However, that’s the way the system works, and even if he had been given the mamximum sentence (life) he would still be eligible for parole after seven years (and day parole after 6 1/2).
The real question to be asked is what point is there in warehousing such a killer at huge cost to the taxpayer?
In our submission, if any change is needed it’s in the form of long (perhaps lifetime) bans on consumption of alcohol or drugs that impair one’s cognitive abilities.
And if, as in this case, the real crime was drunk driving and there was no intent to kill, what we do need is much tougher sentences for all drivers caught with more than double the legal limit of alcohol in their blood.