Former chaplain general of the Canadian Armed Forces, Maj.-Gen. Guy Chapdelaine, submitted a character reference on Vance's behalf, which was given to the judge prior to sentencing in the obstruction of justice case.Megan MacKenzie, professor and the Simon's Chair in International Law and Human Security at Simon Fraser University, said civilians tend to be very impressed by military accomplishments, giving character references from senior military leaders extra weight in court.
"These references really can shift the attention away from the victim and focus on the apparent good nature or good character of the perpetrator." to a judge in 2017 in criminal court after a soldier was found guilty of sexually assaulting Annalise Schamuhn.Kevin and Annalise Schamuhn describe what it was like when high-ranking military officers chose to support a convicted sexual offender who had assaulted Annalise, and explain why they are speaking out now.Kevin Schamuhn said that when he confronted Dawe about it, the commander said he felt Hamilton was a "good guy" who deserved a break.
The military didn't ban its members from writing character reference letters, because they're protected under the Constitution. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms says it provides for "constitutional guarantees that are meant to ensure the conduct of a fair trial," which include "the opportunity to bring forward character evidence during the sentencing phase."
She said the military argues it's taking a victim-centric approach and has publicly vowed to change its culture in response to the sexual misconduct crisis that has sidelined the careers ofAuthorizing these letters, she said, is not in line with that public commitment. Greenspon said he believes character references did play a major role in Vance's sentence. But his guilty plea to obstruction of justice is "something that is going to follow him for the rest of his life," he added.
How about insisting on an accepted code of conduct and enforcing it? There have been far too many senior level CAF members involved with sexual harassment, assault and worse. They need to clean up their act.
Is it just me, or are Canadian military uniforms that bad.
This is Canada
Kinda makes ya proud, don’t it?
Fire Justine Turdeau of Ottawa
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CBCNews - 🏆 2. / 99 Read more »
Source: natnewswatch - 🏆 58. / 59 Read more »