[Otto-matic]

http://calgaryherald.com/news/crime/...d-8b2aaa72f1d2

The likelihood of looming Supreme Court challenges over provisions that essentially throw away the key for Canada’s worst murderers could rob families of hard-earned justice, say loved ones of victims in two of Alberta’s most notorious mass slayings.

Legal experts believe its only a matter of time before consecutive periods of parole ineligibility, made possible after the federal government enacted legislation in 2011, will be challenged before Canada’s highest court on the grounds the punishment is cruel and unusual, violating the Constitution.

In February, Douglas Garland was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 75 years after a jury found him guilty in the 2014 murders of five-year-old Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents, Alvin and Kathy Liknes, who were taken from the Liknes’ Parkhill home.

A month after the decision, Garland’s lawyers asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to overturn the triple murder conviction, complaining the sentence of three consecutive parole ineligibilities is “excessive and harsh,” among other arguments.

Nathan’s father, Rod O’Brien, said the notion of freedom shouldn’t be in the cards for those convicted of the most heinous crimes.

The lawyer representing Derek Saretzky, who in August was similarly sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 75 years in the 2015 killings of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, her father Terry Blanchette, and senior Hanne Meketech in Blairmore, questioned the fairness of locking up a 22-year-old who would have no chance at freedom until he’s 97.

“One of the grounds of appeal will likely be that the consecutive minimums of 25 years amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and, because of that, that section is unconstitutional,” said Balfour Der, who is challenging Saretzky’s conviction and sentence before Alberta’s top court.

Can we not go easy on criminals who deserve to be behind bars for life.