New book explores Indigenous justice in Canada
A new book by Harold Johnson called Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada explores the idea of replacing deterrence with redemption in the legal system.
Johnson held a book launch Tuesday at the Alex Robertson Public Library in La Ronge where he hosted an author reading and explained the ideas in his book. He began writing it shortly after the conclusion of the Gerald Stanley trial in February 2018, when the Biggar-area farmer was acquitted of charges in the death of 22-year-old Indigenous man Colten Boushie.
“That’s the opening pretty much; explaining how the book came to be written and what motivated it,” Johnson said. “Mostly I’m talking about my role in the over-incarceration of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. I was a Crown prosecutor for about 10 years and I helped to fill the jails full of Indians and I take responsibility for it.”
The most troubling aspect Johnson finds in the justice system is its reliance on deterrence and he stated it’s currently believed if you punish someone severely enough, they and everyone else who is watching won’t ever commit the offense again. Johnson noted according to studies and his own experience, that assumption is incorrect.
