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Plea Bargains in Canadian Law: The Example of Karla Homolka

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Plea Bargains in Canadian Law: The Example of Karla Homolka
A plea bargain is a negotiation between the defendant and their attorney on one side, and the crown prosecutor on the other side. A plea bargain may give the defendant a lightened sentence, in exchange for either confessing to some crimes, or giving information that is related to the offence, for example, the location of stolen goods or the names and locations of other participants, as well as their part in the offence.

There are many advantages to plea negotiations/bargains. For instance, if there is not enough evidence against the defendant to convict them, a plea bargain can help the crown obtain a conviction. They are also good for spending less time and money on a trial in some cases. Lastly, because a plea bargain can help to convict a guilty person, they provide satisfaction a public that wishes to see justice served.

There are also disadvantages to plea bargains. Plea bargains are very delicate procedures and must be handled with the utmost amount of care, and much thought must be put into them. Little mistakes can yield miscarriages of justice. When combined with errors in police procedure, plea bargains can be harmful to the legal system, and to society. Some disadvantages include: innocent people being forced to confess to crimes they didn’t commit, vicious criminals receiving lenient treatment and lessened sentences, and then being released back into society, and then as a result of these two, the legal system receiving a bad reputation for not administering justice. These disadvantages were proved to be true in the event of the Karla Homolka/ Paul Bernardo case. Paul Bernardo, husband of Karla Homolka, was also known as the Scarborough rapist, and was responsible for the abduction, rape, and murder of two teenaged girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. However at that time, between 1991 and 1992 when both girls were reported missing, police had no suspects, and no suspicion of Paul Bernardo. To the police, Karla Homolka’s testimony
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