Editor, The News:
We are all grieving for Charlene Reaveley, the mother of four who was killed along with Lorraine Cruz in an apparent hit-and-run in Coquitlam last week. But we wouldn’t be going through all this sadness if the justice system was doing its job. Cory Slater, the driver charged with hitting Reaveley, who was on the side of the road helping Cruz, didn’t even have the decency to pull over and see how she was. Mr. Slater has a past record of three assault charges and plead guilty to all three. The first time he was sentenced to a year of probation. The second time he received a suspended sentence (whatever that means). And this past September he received a sentence of a day in jail and a year of probation for an assault that occurred in October 2009. Now, it seems to me that the man has not learned that assaults on people are against the law, because he has never really spent any time in jail, where he probably would have learned first hand what assault feels like. So if he didn’t learn the first time, should he not receive a longer sentence the second time, and then a much longer sentence the third time he assaulted someone? What is wrong with our justice system? If this man would have been sentenced to some real time in jail on his last offence, four children would still have a mother, to watch their sporting events, congratulate them for their achievements in school and life, see them walk down the isle on their wedding day, help to raise her grandchildren. Her husband would still have a best friend, lover, wife and mother of his children. Please, write letters to your MLAs and MPs and ask what can be done about this injustice and all the others that seem to be in the news lately.
Kathy Robinson
Maple Ridge
