SG and guest -- points well taken. In Canada any first- or second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of "life imprisonment," but here too that does not mean "for the rest of your natural life." First-degree murderers are automatically eligible for parole in 25 years, unless in a separate hearing they are declared "dangerous offenders." Then they can be locked away in jail or a psychiatric hospital for life. Second-degree murders have to serve a minimum of 10 years, but the sentencing judge can (with or without the recommendation of a jury) add time to that. There is no death penalty, regardless of the evil the crime embodies.

What really blows my mind is that opinion poll after opinion poll shows that the Canadian public, by a pretty wide margin, wants a reinstitution of the death penalty but the politicians refuse to put it to a vote. Go figure.

cheers,

david