Sentencing is very often the most difficult part of the work of a judge, and it has come to be the most controversial. No doubt, there is a place for harsh sentences, and I expect that I’ve imposed my share. But the theory that harsh sentences put down crime seems, to me, at least open to debate. In the middle of the nineteenth century, when executions were public, a prison chaplain interviewed 167 people under sentence of death and found that 164 of them had seen a public hanging. They committed their crimes even so.

David Smyth
Provincial Court Judge

Update: David remained a Provincial Court Judge with a respected reputation as both fair and compassionate. He died, while still serving in the Vancouver courts, on April 23, 2010. He was a gentle and humble soul who influenced many by his gracious example.