Judge strikes down mandatory gun sentence

CBC:

An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm.

Judge Anne Molloy found a man guilty Monday of that offence, but ruled that the circumstances of the case don't warrant a three-year penitentiary sentence.

She ruled that to impose such a sentence for what she called Leroy Smickle's "foolish act" would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment," and would breach the charter.

Molloy declared that section of the Criminal Code of no force and effect.

The Department of Justice couldn't immediately be reached for comment on whether they would appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

The decision comes as the federal Conservatives' controversial omnibus crime legislation, with a focus on mandatory minimum sentences, is being considered in the Senate.