From: Terry_Martin@mindlink.bc.ca (Terry Martin)
Subject: Change the Young Offenders Act
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: can
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 04:33:46 GMT

Terry Martin writes:

There has been a great deal of press coverage in the last while with concern
expressed about the level of youth violence and the inability of the YOA to
deal with young offenders, with particular reference to violent offenders.

I received a petition circulated by an individual by the name of Gary Salmond
which was a plea to the public to get the "young offender" that brutally
stabbed Jesse Cadman to death raised to adult court. I wish him luck, and
know that it is a hopeless gesture.

My youngest brother, Kirby Martin, 18, was brutally beaten by two "adults"
and shot dead by a "young offender". The attackers were peers of about the
same age, with the juvenile being a few months from being officially an
adult.
My brother was on his way home from a movie with some buddies and stopped to
hang out at a local mall parking lot. While he was there some guys decided to
trash somebodies car. Kirby was not associated with any of them in any way,
there was no alcohol or drugs involved on his part. He just made the stupid
mistake of acting like a citizen and attempted to intervene to stop the
vandalism, in a non-aggressive manner. For this, in the presence of a large
crowd, he was grabbed by the older two attackers and beaten senseless with a
2by4 and a baseball bat, the same instruments used to trash the vehicle.
partially conscious, he was held up by the two attackers while the third, 17
years old, shot him point blank in the back. The entry wound was in the left
side, close to the back, and the bullet, a 22 calibre round, was found in the
abdominal cavity. The bullet caused a rupture of the aorta, and Kirby bled to
death on the parking lot, just after midnight on a Friday night. For
nothing..

I received a phone call at 3:10 am September 29, 1990, from my younger
sister. She was at the hospital and had been told by the police that Kirby
had been seriously injured. When I got there we had the horrifying experience
of being led down the hall to see him. When we arrived at a door marked
"morgue", any semblance of reality vanished. We went in, to be confronted by
the sight of Kirby's dead body prone on a table with a bloody plastic tube
still protruding from his mouth. His features were so battered and distorted
that I had second thoughts after leaving as to whether it was in fact him. I
guess procedure requires verbal identification, as I was asked "is that Kirby
Martin"? As if our reactions were not sufficient.

Now imagine yourself in that room, with a loved one, preferably young,  on
that table. What is their name? How do you feel?

Well guess what. Not only is the person that killed your loved one not going
to be held accountable, but will not even be given a sentence. They will
receive a "disposition" under the Young Offenders Act, which states as its
prime philosophy that the "juvenile" must be given a disposition which will
best suit his or her needs, will interfere in their life the least, will be
of the shortest possible period and in the most unrestrictive manner
consistent with the best interests of, first, the rehabilitation of the
accused, and then the protection of society. In fact the act requires that NO
PUNITIVE ELEMENT be present in the enactment of the disposition.

If you are sick of hearing about violent young people getting away with
murder and mayhem, please use the ML! fax to send me a comment. My fax # is
856-5347.

By the way the piece of garbage that murdered my brother was defended by your
tax dollars with a public defender. He owned a brand new import automobile,
fully paid for. The case is now being appealed despite a clear conviction of
second degree murder, on the basis of a technicality, again with your money,
by the public defender. The accused got 3 years in juvenile detention. The
basis of the appeal is to be that the judge did not have sufficient reasons
to find the accused guilty, despite dozens of witnesses, the murder weapon
placed in the possesion of the accused at the scene, and an eye witness that
saw him shoot Kirby.

If you care about our young people, please, tell the authorities to change
the system. Just fax me your comment via ML! or e-mail me here and it will
get to the right people.
You have a powerful tool in front of you. Please use it!
Anyone that has had anything at all to do with children knows that the threat
of punitive action must be used as an influence on their behavior. The threat
is the best way to avoid having to use it. We do not even have that threat
and the results are heartbreaking.

My kids still ask "is Uncle Kirby still dead?". What do you say?


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