Judge suspends cocaine trafficking sentence for indigenous man

An outspoken judge has given an indigenous man a suspended sentence for trafficking in cocaine, breaking from sentencing traditions that have contributed to the widespread incarceration of aboriginal Canadians.

Federal law requires judges to give aboriginal offenders special consideration in sentencing. But Justice Melvyn Green’s decision to give no jail time to Robert McGill, 40, of Toronto, is a departure for a justice system that too often, he said, simply gives these offenders a small sentencing “discount.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/judge-suspends-cocaine-trafficking-sentence-for-indigenous-man/article29374801/