Legal expert says Col Williams’ sentence is “very harsh”
Posted October 21, 2010 10:09 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Our legal expert says Colonel Russell Williams’ sentence is one of the most severe under Canadian law. Michael Shapray tells News1130 why the judge didn’t give Williams two consecutive 25-year sentences:
“We don’t have 7,500 year sentences like you hear in the U.S., and because they were two different convictions, the judge obviously made them concurrent as he had already given him a maximum sentence.”
He adds the judge is likely making an example out of Williams, by handing him such a harsh punishment. “Even a first-degree murder conviction is [a life sentence] with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Here, he’s been given an actual 25 year sentence. That is a very, very harsh sentence by any standard in Canadian law.”
The military says it will begin the process of removing Williams from its ranks.
