Another example of the corruption in the judiciary. If this had been a man could you imagine he would get house arrest? Can you think of the out cry if a male was selected for house arrest? This boils down to a vacation at home for child abuse beyond the pale. Shame on you Justice Helen MacLeod-Beliveau you are a disgrace and a sorry example of the Canadian Judiciary for handing out such egregious gender discounts. This is far too common in family and criminal courts. See my email to the judge following the article. Does the following statement sound like something Obama's recent appointee to the USA Supreme Court. She is a Latino female named Sotomayer. So now we get Judges who think they can make better decisions than men because of their gender, environment or race. What drivel. The Crown Attorney, defense lawyer and Judge were female. Is this the kind of decision making we can expect from feminist activist judges and lawyers? MJM
At the reception following the event, Justice MacLeod Beliveau reiterated this sentiment, saying that greater diversity on the bench means that different life experiences are brought to the decisions that are made. "We are not a homogeneous society and we need to have increased sensitivity to the diverse experiences of those before the courts," she said.
WINNIPEG -- An Ontario judge has handed down one of the most egregious sentences I've seen in a long time to a woman who forced a toddler's hands into a pot of boiling water, causing fourth-degree burns.
For that, Superior Court Justice Helen MacLeod-Beliveau is the latest winner of the Eight-Ball Award, handed out in this column to highlight some of the worst perversions of justice in our court system.
As perversions go, this one falls on the severe side of the judicial spectrum, bringing not only Canada's administration of justice into disrepute but also plunging this country's justice system to a new low.
Unimaginable agony
Magan Marie Muir, now 24, was supposed to be caring for two children in 1997. Instead, she took the hands of two-year-old Damon Reddom Stone -- her then-boyfriend's son -- and plunged them mercilessly into a pot of boiling water.
The toddler's hands were immersed to his wrists, causing second, third and fourth-degree burns and weeks of unimaginable agony and pain.
Muir lied to police when they investigated the burns, which hospital officials immediately recognized as a deliberate act to cause serious injury.
Muir told police Damon was burned after he climbed up to the stove and knocked a pot of boiling water to the floor.
Unspeakable crime
Despite her unspeakable crime and the fact she attempted to obstruct justice by lying to police, Muir was given a conditional sentence -- or house arrest -- of 18 months by Justice MacLeod-Beliveau in a Belleville, Ont. courtroom Tuesday.
MacLeod-Beliveau argued during sentencing it has been proven jail time in cases like these is not an effective deterrent.
She also said Muir is not a danger to the public.
Not a danger to the public? She took a two-year-old's hands and dunked them into a pot of boiling water.
If that's not a danger to the public, I don't know what is.
MacLeod-Beliveau obviously didn't give much -- if any -- weight to the Criminal Code's sentencing principles of deterrence, denunciation and the overriding principle sentences must be proportionate to the gravity of a crime.
If she did, it would have been impossible for her to accept the joint-sentencing recommendation of the Crown and the defence, which she could have rejected.
But she didn't.
Instead, she said Muir's crime was simply out of character.
How thoughtful. Did the judge hand Muir a bouquet of flowers, too?
MacLeod-Beliveau also said no sentence could restore Damon's hands.
Yeah, we know that. We're not looking for a sentence that's going to restore his hands. That's political rhetoric, the kind of pablum soft, left-leaning judges regurgitate to support their pathetic sentences.
No, Justice MacLeod-Beliveau, we're looking for a sentence that follows the sentencing principles as set out in the Criminal Code.
We're looking for a sentence that denounces this crime and denounces it loudly.
We're looking for specific and general deterrence.
And most of all, we're looking for a fit sentence that is proportionate to the gravity of the crime.
That's what the law says you're supposed to do.
Unfortunately, MacLeod-Beliveau failed miserably on all counts.
She failed to ensure justice was served in this case and she contributed significantly to the rapid erosion of public confidence in our justice system.
Enjoy the Eight-Ball, MacLeaod-Beliveau. I'm sure it will look swell on your mantle.
Dear Judge:
Re:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/2009/06/18/9838186.html#/news/winnipeg/2009/06/18/pf-9835956.htmlYour recent decision is another example of the appearance of corruption in the judiciary.We just got ri
d of the Political Hack and former colleague of yours Paul Cosgrove. If this had been a man could you imagine he would get house arrest? Can you think of the outcry if you gave a male house arrest under similar circumstances? This boils down to a vacation at home for child abuse beyond the pale. It matters not there was collusion between the Crown and defence. We have seen what Crowns are capable of with the recent revelations in Barrie and Windsor of both corruption within the sphere of the Ontario Attorney General and participating Police Forces.
Shame on you Justice Helen MacLeod-Beliveau you are a disgrace and a sorry example of the Canadian Judiciary for handing out such egregious gender discounts. This is far too common in family and criminal courts. I pity any man who has to face you in family court. It is clear where your sympathies come to rest.
You have made a major contribution to the continuing loss of confidence in the administration of justice in our country.
Mike Murphy
Fran Lebowitz - "Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep."
cc Rob Nicholson, Justice Minister, Canada, C. Bentley, AG, Ontario,Canadian Judicial Council
Damon Reddom, pictured the day after his hands were dipped into a pot of boiling water by a 24-year-old city woman. The woman, who was handed a conditional sentence, has since moved to St. Catharine’s to finish serving her home-based sentence.
Submitted photo
Mom seeking justice for child victims
Posted By Jeremy Ashley The Intelligencer
Posted 4 days ago
At times, Damon Reddom Stone is a haunted four-year-old.
Sitting on his mother’s lap Monday, he ran his hands over her fingertips.
“He said, ‘Mommy, I wish I had normal hands like you,’” recalled Tina Reddom this week.
Every so often, she said, her youngster’s mind drifts back to the morning of Oct. 16, 2007 when a 24-year-old city woman — in a fit of supposed rage — forced his tiny hands into a pot of boiling water in the Applewood Drive apartment she shared with her then-boyfriend, Damon's father.
Damon, who was two at the time, sustained serious burns and will require several surgeries, skin grafts and therapy to treat the wounds.
After pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm earlier this year, Magan Muir agreed to an 18-month sentence for the crime.
The first half of Muir’s sentence is being spent under house arrest, while during the remaining nine months she will be allowed out into the community under certain conditions.
Like many others in the community, the boy’s mother remains outraged at the sentence, charging her son was shortchanged by the criminal justice system.
Earlier this month, another blow was dealt to the Reddom family — Muir was granted a request to move to St. Catharines to finish serving her sentence while living with family.
“How can she choose where she is going to live? She should be serving her sentence in the community where she committed this crime, I think. And, the last time I checked, an inmate in a prison couldn’t say ‘Hey, I don’t like it here, can I move to another prison’. It doesn’t make sense to me, and quite frankly, pisses me off.
“Damon didn’t get an ounce of justice, not one stitch of justice.”
Reddom said her son, who is the youngest of two, will be dealing with his injuries for years to come — despite the long road he’s already walked during the past 20 months.
After the incident, Reddom took three months off work to ensure Damon received the best care, which included hours of daily physiotherapy and bandage changes.
“It was hell, to say the least, but at least he can use his hands ... and I am very grateful for that. I thank God every single day because Damon could have lost use of his hands because of his burns.”
During his visits to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto, Damon visits with a number of specialists, including psychiatrists and therapists.
The youngster is a trooper: doctors are impressed with his recovery from both the physical and mental trauma of the incident.
“I doubt myself a lot when it comes to helping with Damon’s healing process,” Tina said. “Am I doing the physiotherapy right, or am I changing his bandages properly ... so for him to be doing as well as he’s doing is such good news for us.”
Ensuring her two children are not consumed with bitterness about the family’s situation is a daily struggle.
“I tell you that some of the thoughts and the feelings that I’ve had in the last 20 months would land me behind bars for a very long time. But I look at my boy Damon everyday and he needs me more now than ever ... and what kind of mother would I be if I put myself at her (Muir’s) level? I’m above that — anyone who can do that to a child is scum on the bottom of the river.”
At the same time, Reddom feels as though she is failing her son — an emotion that has sparked an online frenzy through the social networking website Facebook.
“Our kids are our future and if the justice system isn’t going to protect them, who will? As a community and country, we need to stand up and tell our government that change is needed.”
To date, more than 8,200 people are members of her group ‘Where is the justice?’ — an element that Reddom hopes to harness into a special event to raise awareness about abused children and the “failings of the justice system” in the hopes of initiating change.
For instance, the Canadian justice system is “a very sexist,” she said, noting that in her opinion, a man would have received a much harsher sentence for the same crime.
“This event will be to raise awareness about how this is happening to our kids everyday — children are getting abused everyday and people are getting away with it.
“I would go to jail longer if I were to rob a convenience store. A person takes away the innocence of a child and they don’t even serve any time in jail and get to walk amongst us and our children.”
Specific details of the awareness walk, which is expected to be held in Belleville in late summer, have yet to be worked out, she said.
“Something has to give there, something has to change. I can’t get Damon the justice he deserves, but maybe I can for the next baby. At the end of the day, I want to be able to stand up and say I helped get that change because our babies deserve better.
“And I’m not going to stop until I’m heard, and I tell you, I’ve got about 60 years left on my life and God granted me a big mouth for a reason and I’m going to keep going until somebody listens.”
jashley@intelligencer.ca
