Jane Creba - Innocent victim of gunfire

[Chin_Lee]

Firstly I would like to send my condolences to the Creba family in Toronto who have lost a 15 year old beautiful daughter while she was Boxing Day shopping with her sister. She was the victim of a stray bullet between rivalry drug dealers who were a little overly-concerned about their drug-trafficking territory and took the liberty to settle the dispute in the middle of a busy shopping district with gunfire.
I was truly amazed at the Creda's public statement that did not even mention anything negative about the culprits who have "tragically scattered" their "bright light into darkness."
It made my blood boil as I was reading through the paper about this and I will confess that it brought tears to my eyes because I myself, along with every parent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandfather, grandmother, and friend out there, you must have also thought "That could have been somebody I know and even worse, somebody I love." In this case with Jane Creba, it was neither somebody I knew nor love but for reasons unknown it has really touched and saddened me deeply. I really have no explanation as to why but perhaps it is because I am now a father with a 2.5 year old son and 5 month old daughter. At this point in my life, they are the brightest lights (well.... almost as bright as the MH bulbs over my tank) in my life and on a daily basis, I pray that:
- they will remain healthy
- I will not ever have to visit either one or both of my children in jail in the future
- they will grow up to be good overall,
- they will be productive citizens,
- they will have decent jobs, and
- they will get out of my house by the time they are 25

But why should I need to also pray that I will never have to see them in a morgue nor will I never have to bury them?
I think it makes me the most angry to know that some drug dealer or any other low-lifes of society, can just take away that "light" from me .... these pathetic low-lifes who feel that their drug trafficking territory or whatever dispute they have is so important that they should be able to exercise their Charter of Rights and Freedom with guns and bullets.

For those who know me, I am not permitted to publicly express my views of the justice system nor the government. Having said that, I was watching some news a number of weeks ago on the Federal government on imposing a mandatory minimum sentences for possession of firearm offences where some of the minimum sentences being asked for were lengthy and very ............ "justifying" (in my opinion). When the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada was asked about the minimum sentences, his main concern was that the courts will find the minimum sentences "unconstitutional" to the offenders. That is all I will comment about that but as an ordinary John Smith (or is it Wen Chen in my nationality) Canadian citizen, I often wonder who does the Charter of Rights really protect?

Nevertheless, I didn't intend to start this to discuss politics. I only wanted to express how the tragic death of Jane Creba has really made me think about my life in general. Jane has turned a light on in my heart - a light that will inspire me to do better at my job for the rest of my career.

May God bless your soul and may God give your friends and family the strength they need to get through this.

And Jane, may you rest peacefully in heaven - thank you.

[martym]

Well said Chin. Not being political either but guns don't kill people, people kill people. The gun that was used to kill that poor little girl was most likely not a legal gun. We need to have a better justis system to deal with that kind of scum. As a father of 2 as well, I can not imagine what they are going through. It makes me mad, and i will leave it at that.

[Veng68]

Well said Chin.

I hope the people who did this get punished to the max and then some (in the afterlife).

Vic [veng68]

[MobyDick]

I am a firm believer and I think they will get what they deserve on J-DAY!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

May they burn in H-E-Double hockey sticks. Very well said my friend. I think that Canadian laws & judges are waaaaay too considerate of the criminals' rights & not worried enough about protecting society or giving a sense of justice to victims.

Anthony

[4ptbuck]

Although kinda unrelated, all this gun "ba hoo hoo" has got me all riled up.

Those of you who know me, and those of you that see the significance of my handle will know where I sit.

The frustrating part is all the hangun viloence that is going on right now.

Are you guys aware of the Liberal knee jerk reaction is?... Ban all handguns. yup that's going to help. Take away all the legal guns from the law abiding citizens.

Then there's the talk about max sentences. Well, since the introduction of the max sentances for gun related crimes, not 1 criminal has received the max sentance. A lot of help in raising the max sentance as suggested by our gov't crooks.

Then there's the billion dollar gun registery,...do you really think that this registery that contains information about legal guns have helped....


Did you guys know that:

The 2 kids picked up with an illegal gun and possible link to the boxing day shooting , just got out of jail for robbery . They did 30 days !
The two men in custody have been identified as a 17-year-old youth and a 20-year-old man recently released on probation after serving 30 days for a convenience store robbery.


ARGhhh....

I know I am presenting the problems, and to be a model citizen, should be presenting solutions. We have the solutions all ready in place, we just need to follow through and "prosectue to the fullest extent of the law", and not release on bail 3 days afterwards.

but back on topic,... my condolences to the Creba family, I could not imagine burying one of my little ones.


4pts.

[Invigor]

2 words -- capital punishment.

the judicidary system in way to lenient in the wrong places. criminals do not deserve cival rights.

[cindyt]

All I can say is,this thread didnt make me look at gun laws any harder,or feel the need to implement my opinions about them......what it DID do was make me give my children an extra hug today...an extra good word,an extra 'I love you'. Death at any rate is horrible,but a senseless one like this reminds us how fragile life is,and how easy it can be taken.Its unfortunate we need something like this to happen,to remind us of what we hold dear.All we can really do is hope we let our loved ones know how much we love them,and cherish them every single day.You truly dont know what tomorrow will bring,so appreciate what you have today,and say the things that need saying.........


May god bless you Jane,and your family.

[Murminator]

2 words -- capital punishment.

the judicidary system in way to lenient in the wrong places. criminals do not deserve cival rights.

I'm with ya an eye for an eye

[Chin_Lee]

The frustrating part is all the hangun viloence that is going on right now.

Are you guys aware of the Liberal knee jerk reaction is?... Ban all handguns. yup that's going to help. Take away all the legal guns from the law abiding citizens.

Then there's the talk about max sentences. Well, since the introduction of the max sentances for gun related crimes, not 1 criminal has received the max sentance. A lot of help in raising the max sentance as suggested by our gov't crooks.

Then there's the billion dollar gun registery,...do you really think that this registery that contains information about legal guns have helped....


With all the handgun violence right now, many people in the lower mainland should be a little concern because the ones responsible have as little appreciation for life as the ones who killed Jane. Three shootings in the Lower Mainland over the week where one nearly took the life of another innocent teenager who was sleeping in his bed.

I believe the talks are about minimum sentences - not maximum. The maximum is already as maximum can be - LIFE IN PRISON. But then again on the other hand, there is also a maximum sentence of LIFE IN PRISON for a person who commits a break and enter into a dwelling house. This has NEVER been given to an individual regardless of the number of times they have been convicted of that same criminal offence.

The talks about minimum sentences..... now we are talking. Since the introduction of minimum sentences with gun related offences, there have been numerous criminals who have been locked up for that minimum. I wonder if they were to impose a minimum sentence simply for illegally possessing a handgun, if less criminals will be incline to carry one with them?

[saltynuts]

i with you on this one. I have two boys,and would do anyting for them.
an eye for an eye!

[demon666]

i myself am a strong beleiver in capital punishment..... iam a complete and udder "RED NECK" i am not a religious person but it does say in the bible "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" you kill somebody say good bye cuse you shouldnot be breathing either. you rape a woman or molest a child you dont get protective custady in jail...... you get gen pop....... then you get what you deserve........ i recently had a lease hand who spent 3.5 yrs in price albert (a federal prison) for trafficing and gun related offences.... the stories he told me made me sick.... to quote him " it was great!! like a holiday" they had video games, wore regular street clothes, where has our judicial system gone????????? you do something wrong you loose all civil rights....... where are the civil rights protecting the inocent people?????? we need a few "RED NECKS" in parlament i too am a father.... not biological but a father non the less...... and if something ever happened to my son all hell would break out.... a "RED NECK" ass whooping for who ever did it to my kid........



shawn

[Invigor]

I think we need somebody like adrienne clarkson running the country, not someone like paul martin or stephen harper. in my short 22 year experience in life, i've always seen more good things happen when women are in charge of large organized operations.

[Scales]

Do not be too quick to blame all judges...some have views that can be described as "lenient", but just as many have views that reflect a harder/stricter approach to offences that victimize citizens...

The issue of sentencing starts with the government...the government is in control of the jail system and what facilities are available for "punishment"...the government decides what is best for society and implements policy that serves its mandate...the availability of jail space is a strong limiting factor for sentencing...judges are not going to impose jail time when the person will only be released because of a lack of facilities to serve the sentence...sentencing is also controlled to some extent by the higher courts and it is unknown how much influence the government has at that level...lower court judges are not fond of their rulings being overturned on appeal...

Sentencing needs to be more punitive and reflect the majority of the society affected by the crime...but the government is the only entity that can support such an initiative...I have little doubt that if there was sufficient space, many judges would not hesitate to impose more/lengthier jail terms...and prisons should be harsh...an experience few want to face repetitively...as opposed to the country club atmosphere that appears to be the current norm...

Keep in mind that the ones who commit the worst crime care little about the repercussions or the bystanders who get in the way...these sub-humans who harm innocent people, particularly children, deserve a far worse punishment than jail can ever provide...

[demon666]

china---- 1 bullet------cost to the family of the exacuted. suits me fine.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Singapore. You get caught with drugs, you hang. Next....

[Mike Olson]

What really bothers me is that APPOINTED Judges seem to lose touch with the populace...there are laws that can put some of these criminals away for a long time, but they are never enacted...it is so frustrating that there isnt a mechanism in place to hold judges accountable when they have lost touch with whom they are supposed to be serving. The argument that lenient sentences derive due to lack of jail or prison space is garbage...a judge is bound to the rule of law, federal and provincial govt's are responsible for space. Not all judges, but some tend to interpret law by watering it down by following this notion that nobody is 100 percent resbonsible for their actions anymore!...society, family, psychiatry, poor, rich, addiction etc all have a hand in the crime! This may be true, but if some jerk guns down one of my children over a pair of sneakers, or gets caught in the crossfire...where is the justice for the victim and me? LOST IN TRANSLATION. And then where is my thought process the next time an injustice occurs?
I really feel for the police out there who have to deal with this, risk their life to have a criminal be let loose 30 days after commiting armed robbery!
USE A GUN IN A CRIME, YOU GET A MINIMUM SENTENCE OF...How can that be so bloody hard to do? We have such strict laws already when it comes to handguns, unfortunately the knee jerk reaction for many is to buy in to the idea that banning is the answer, instead of finding out whats there and what will truly work or at least put these @!@%!^!& away for awhile!!!!!

[Invigor]

to remember, quote: "how fragile life is", two 21 year old girls were killed yesturday in a car accident not far from my home. 3 others are in the hospital...I'm sure there were more last night.

I made $50 by driving my sister and her drunk friends home last night at 2am. Rather annoying to get a phone call at 2am when I'm sleeping, but when it gets the ones I love home safely, it was worth every minute of it!

[asherah]

As a mom who has lost a son I know how .. well I can't even find a word descriptive enough to descripe how awful it is.
I'll be thinking of that family. I'll also be thinking of that man who must truly have an awful life, that maybe one day he'll see what he's done, because we all know in most likely hood, the courts won't catch him.
amanda