The Supreme Court of Canada just released R. v. Lacasse, overturning the Quebec Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce the sentence of six and a half years imprisonment to four years in jail. The Supreme Court restored the six and a half year prison term originally imposed by the trial judge for the accused who killed his two passengers while driving impaired and operating the vehicle at 130km/hour.
The Supreme Court directed appeal courts to be hesitant to overturn the sentence of the trial court unless the sentence imposed is manifestly unfit. The decision also reflects a trend in recent years of courts imposing lengthy periods of imprisonment in cases involving impairment and the death of passengers or other innocent parties