Female: a neo-Brunswickois judge asks for more severe penalties

A New Brunswick judge urges the federal government to modify the criminal code to fight more effectively against female. He asks for a more severe floor sentence for these murders.

This occurred on August 11 in Miramichi, in court of the king’s bench during the hearing of determination of the murderer of the murderer Billy Joe Stewart.

This man killed his partner in 2024 by giving him a saw and strangling him with a rope. He pleaded guilty of second degree murder, a crime liable to life prison without the possibility of parole before having spent at least 10 years behind bars.

Before condemning him, the judge Frederick Ferguson The elected officials in Ottawa directly arrested.

It seems that if parliament did its job for women in this country-53 % of our population-it would find a way to include a clause in the criminal code that would establish a floor sentence far beyond 10 yearshe said.

Judge Ferguson said the current floor sentence does not reflect the horror of what happens to too many women in the hands of their intimate companions and that the penalty for feminicides should be about 15 years old.

He added that the possibility of recognized people guilty of feminicides should be provided to argue that the floor should be lowered in their case.

According to him, this clause would prevent the constitutionality from this change in the criminal code to be successfully contested.

The judge Ferguson said he wanted to launch this message since he will soon reach the compulsory retirement age for federal judges, set at 75 years.

He condemned Billy Joe Stewart In life imprisonment without possibility of liberation before 15 years, the penalty which had been recommended jointly by the crown and by the defense.

An electoral promise of the Liberals

During the last federal electoral campaign, the liberals of Mark Carney committed to doing more to protect victims of sexual violence and violence between intimate partners.

They notably promised to designate the murders motivated by hatred of first degree murders, including feminicides.

In a written declaration sent to CBC Earlier this week, the Ministry of Justice of Canada reiterates this commitment and indicates that consultations are underway with stakeholders.

This change in the Criminal Code would expose people who are guilty of female life in life without the possibility of release before 25, even if their crime was not premeditated.

This is how other types of murders are treated.

For example, all homicides committed during an abduction or in sexual assault are automatically first -degree murders. In addition, all police ‘homicides in the exercise of their duties are automatically first -degree murders.

I had tears to the eye

This position of judge Ferguson is greeted with open arms by the director general of the Courage Center (alias The Center for Resources and Family Crises Beauséjour), Kristal Leblanc.

I think it’s a sign that things change. I was proud to see that, I had tears in my eye when I read this because I think that judge Ferguson supports women, he is by our sideshe says in an interview.

According to her, modify the criminal code to recognize the feminicides would launch A message to the community that women are killed just because they are women And that we must tackle the problem.

With information from Shane Magee, CBC