JUDGMENT DAY

The U.S. justice system slapped British Columbia gangster Clay
Roueche with - and this is the exact phrase from Judge Robert Lasnik
- - his "day of reckoning."

Actually, there will be 10,950 days of reckoning for Roueche, as the
toothsome jaws of U.S. justice sentenced our thug to 30 years.
(Factor in leap years and the exact number of days society will be
rid of this man is closer to 10,960.)

Of course, 30 years in the Canadian justice system is all but
impossible. Someone like the abhorrent Clifford Olson might spend 30
years behind bars, but a drug-dealing gang leader - not a chance.

Too bad, really. Because in the end, drug-dealing gang leaders cause
as much heartbreak, as much pain, as much suffering, as much hell as
any Clifford Olson or Paul Bernardo.

Consider the words of the commendable Judge Lasnik, as he sentenced Roueche:

"There are ... children, brothers, sisters and parents suffering
every day because of the cocaine and marijuana disbursed by the
defendant and his fellow gang members - children who go to bed hungry
because parents spend the money they have feeding their habit ...
These are not victimless crimes. They have a profound impact on the
people, on neighborhoods and on the communities of our district."

Amen!

Goodbye Mr. Roueche. See you in 2039.