We Sentenced Her But Failed Her First: Rethinking Justice in Our Community
Joel Pennington examines a recent Owen Sound court case to explore broader societal responsibilities in the justice system, challenging readers to look beyond individual blame.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
It seems to me that there has been a bit of an increase in finger-pointing in our community recently. It’s an easy, cathartic response to blame an individual or a single organization.
What’s more challenging, complex, and ultimately more helpful is to unpack the layers of responsibility.
How do you do that? Well, let’s look a bit more closely at a recent court case and unpeel the proverbial onion.
A few weeks ago, a 26-year-old woman was sentenced in Owen Sound to 4 years in jail for drug trafficking. It would’ve been 5, but conditions in jail are so poor (“wildly overcrowded,” with “very frequent lockdowns” and “relatively harsh conditions”) they knocked a year off.
The judge goes on to say, “I do hope that you use the remaining time in custody wisely,” and suggests she think about making plans for when she’s released, along with taking any programs, such as for mental health, addiction and life skills training offered in jail.
So while you’re locked down in an overcrowded prison with “relatively harsh conditions” for 4 years... deal with your addiction and mental health.
Oh, and get some life skills while you’re at it.
And then there’s the quote that sums up everything that’s wrong with our criminal justice system but hints at the layers of responsibility we, as a society, have refused to face so far: [Judge] Conlan said if anyone else in the courtroom had experienced her upbringing “maybe we would be where you’re sitting.”
Abandoned by her mother at 12. Never knew her father. Various foster homes. Homeless for 5 years. An addiction so chronic she was forced to sell sex. Multiple mental illnesses.
Not just maybe judge, we’d all undoubtedly be in that chair. And in a way, we are all in that chair, or should be. This is the problem. We isolate responsibility — blame the victim or the perpetrator — and walk away thinking justice is served.
What if this individual was housed during those 5 years and had wraparound services to treat her addiction and mental illnesses? What responsibility do all levels of government have to her to provide this?
What responsibility do we, as voters and citizens, have to her? Are we holding these various levels of government accountable to provide these services?
What responsibility do we have when we see someone suffering in the street?
What was her parents' situation? Could they have been better supported to raise a child? Who were the individuals paying cash or drugs for sex to someone who was suffering so deeply (and probably visibly)? What’s their responsibility in this? Was that really consensual sex?
What role does the media have to play? What impact does it have on a society when we’re constantly watching good versus evil narratives where everything is fixed once the “bad guys” are dead or in jail? How much does that seep into our ideas of justice?
What responsibility do employers have? Was she paid a living wage at Walmart? Was anyone looking out for her at work?
You can look at any case in our criminal justice system and, with a bit of curiosity, you’ll quickly realize that there are plenty of other people and institutions that should be standing trial along with the accused.
What would it take for us, as a community, to look at justice holistically? Because moments of violence, exploitive behaviours, desperate decisions, and impulsive reactions all have something in common… they don’t happen in a vacuum.
If you’re interested in different forms of justice, I recommend exploring Restorative Justice with CJI, and you can learn more about restorative practices here. Want to speak to your elected representatives about concerns you have? You can email council@owensound.ca, our MPP at paul.vickers@pc.ola.org, or our MP at alex.ruff@parl.gc.ca.
Thank you to sponsors of The Owen Sound Current Writers’ Fund, who make these community contributions possible. Contributions from the community do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
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Great article Joel. Thank you for reminding us all of our collectrive responsibility if we want a safe and healthy society.
Well written Joel, and as true as the sun rises in the east. We need to rethink our justice system as people like the woman you highlight have been failed by so many during her young life. Your comment about the judge urging her to get her life together 'in a wildly overcrowded jail' is just so true. We don't seem to realize as a society that we pay at one end or the other.
Thanks for writing this column. I hope it gets read by many people with the power to act.