ADDICTS DRAW LENGTHY SENTENCES, BUT ARE THEY APPROPRIATE?

Younger Offender May Have A Reduced Chance Of Going Straight

A B.C. Supreme Court justice sent a man to prison for three years for
purse-snatching while a provincial court judge thought that fit
punishment for a knife-wielding convenience store holdup.

In spite of the apparent disparity of the crimes, both were similar in
nature in that they were committed by drug-addled men with lengthy
records.

The cases -- one handled by Supreme Court Justice Elliott Myers, the
other by Provincial Court Judge Jane Cartwright --are typical of
robberies now prevalent across the province.

The general range of sentences, the B.C. Court of Appeal says, is
between two and nine years although life imprisonment remains the
maximum under the Criminal Code.

Justice Myers was faced with Daniel Adam Griffiths, convicted Jan. 18
of a robbery he committed Feb. 9, 2005.

At about 11 a.m. Griffiths ran down a woman with his mountain bike on
Fourth Street in New Westminster. He snatched her purse and dragged
her a short distance. As they wrestled on the ground, a burly forklift
driver saw the struggle and came to the woman's rescue.

(Shane O'Neill received the Royal City's certificate of merit for his
bravery in holding Griffiths until police arrived.)

The 41-year-old had an extensive record -- 51 convictions including
four for robbery (three in a single day), six for assault, two for
assault causing bodily harm and 25 for property offences. The longest
sentence he received during his criminal career was two years less a
day for a robbery in 1984.

As you can see, neither probation nor jail deterred him a whit.

Not surprising, he's an addict. He scared the hell out of the woman
for a few bucks to feed his cocaine and heroin habit.

"In my view, the appropriate sentence in this case is three years
imprisonment," Myers said.

Cartwright, who sits in Vernon, was faced with Marty David Stubbs who
also pleaded guilty to robbery.

He pulled up to a Shell convenience store in a stolen pickup about
9:20 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2006 and waited until it emptied of customers.

Stubbs asked the lone clerk for cigarettes and then brandished a
six-inch kitchen knife in her face. He grabbed her by the shirt,
saying: "Don't do anything!"

Stubbs couldn't pry open the cash drawer but, as he tried, she slipped
his grip. She ran to the front of the store and banged on the windows
yelling for help.

The customers who had just left turned, saw her plight and raced
back.

Stubbs threateningly held up the knife as they burst in.

"Watch it," he warned, waving the blade at them before bolting.

The entire episode was captured on the store videotape and Stubbs was
easily identified by police who knew him. The 24-year-old, who was on
probation, was arrested the next day. His defence? He was "whacked out
of his mind on drugs."

Of course, he also has a record -- assault, a break and enter and
assault, two thefts under $5,000, another break and enter, a fail to
attend court, a fail to comply with an undertaking, two possession of
stolen property, trafficking, uttering threats . . . .

Neither probation nor jail deterred him either because he also is an
addict. He likes his coke-and-heroin cocktails as well.

Cartwright, on the bench for more than a decade, had this to say about
these now common violent, drug-fuelled robberies -- primarily
snatch-and-grabs and small-store stickups committed by the same people.

"These offenders are responsible for their substance abuse problems
and entirely responsible for their behaviour," she said. "Drug
addiction may explain the latter. It is, however, no excuse."

She sentenced Stubbs to three years -- 28 months after subtracting the
eight months credit he received for time already served.

Both punishments strike me as appropriate and at the same time
problematic.

Coming out of prison in his mid-20s, Stubbs might have a chance at
beating the dope to reintegrate into the law-abiding community.

Griffiths, with his history, in his mid-40s? I doubt it.

Could we get better outcomes? I'm not sure.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants judges to start jailing this kind
of offender for longer periods to cut down on this kind of crime.

I'm not sure that will work.

It will probably deny hope to those like Stubbs who are still young
enough to change and reintegrate into the law-abiding community. It
will also, undoubtedly, accelerate the warehousing of elderly addicts
such as Griffiths.