On April 15, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that a provision limiting the discretion of a judge to give enhanced pre-trial credit was overbroad and unconstitutional.
The West Coast Prison Justice Society/Prisoners’ Legal Services was represented at the Supreme Court of Canada by Greg Allen and Ken Leung in R v Safarzadeh-Markhali.
A provision of the Truth in Sentencing Act, which was enacted as part of the Harper government’s “tough on crime” agenda, prohibited a trial judge from giving more than one-for-one pretrial credit if a justice of the peace denies bail to the person because of a previous conviction.
Congratulations to all involved in this important case, and a special thanks to Greg and Ken who represented us pro bono.
Prisoners’ Legal Services
302-7818 6th Street
Burnaby, BC
Tel: 604-636-0470
Fax: 604-636-0480
Email: info@pls-bc.ca
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Help us to continue to fight for the human rights of prisoners in BC! PLS is currently litigating the important systemic issues of the segregation of prisoners with mental disabilities, access to health care, transgender prisoner rights, and access to religion and Indigenous spirituality. We need help to continue to do this important work. Donations to West Coast Prison Justice Society are non-charitable and are not tax deductible.
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