There was an arrest warrant issued for Graham James two weeks ago, but it doesn’t mean it’s over for his victims because he isn’t even in custody yet.
Theo Fleury, who will be in Lethbridge on Feb. 26, 2011 to discuss this issue and share his story, recently expressed discontent with the Canadian justice system. He was displeased that they took so long to issue the arrest warrant and proceed with charges against the disgraced former hockey coach.
He later praised the Winnipeg police for their work, saying he understood why it took so long. But the former Calgary Flame isn’t the only one frustrated with the justice system.
After former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy and another unnamed player came forward in 1996 to face their demons and bring James to justice, James was granted a pardon in 2007.
Messed up? Yes, because the way our justice system has approached sex offenders has been with an attitude of “sex offenders can be rehabilitated.” Victims have watched their innocence be destroyed by another and have also watched that person serve minimal time in jail and continue to walk through society as a free person after.
In reality, convicted sex offenders serve maybe half of a jail term if they portray “good behaviour” behind bars. That’s maybe two and a half years of a six-year sentence.
Graham James was sentenced to only three years to begin with after pleading guilty to hundreds of incidents in which he sexually abused young boys while he was coaching their hockey team. That sort of sentencing doesn’t scream, “justice was served.”
When news broke about his pardon, chaos seemed to explode. A Facebook group was started, called “Convicted Sex Offenders Should NOT Be Pardoned.” It currently has over 5,000 fans.
Airdrie resident Amy Stewart, who started the group, stated repeatedly to the media how “the justice system treats criminals as if they have more rights than victims.”
With the recent changes in the pardon system, someone convicted of an indictable offence isn’t eligible for a pardon for 10 years, up from what used to be a five-year waiting period. So the good news is that if and when James is in custody and charged again, that pretty little pardon of his is likely to be revoked and he will never be eligible for one again.
The bad news is that although Graham James’ lawyer said that his client would co-operate with authorities upon the arrest warrant being issued, it seems that James has vacated the Mexico apartment where CBC found him earlier this year, according to recent news reports.
Fleury could easily continue to express that same disgruntled frustration with the justice system without it being unfounded. If James was going to co-operate, then where is he and why hasn’t he turned himself in?
If he has pulled yet another disappearing act, then how long is it going to take for the Canadian government to find him to bring him back to face the justice he should have faced a long time ago?
To be fair, the government may have to go through the Mexican government to extradite James. Mexico is one of the countries that Canada has an extradition agreement with, but these legal proceedings take time.
It didn’t seem to take long for James to vanish into thin air. If the Canadian government is waiting for him to turn himself in, it looks like they’ve waited too long.