Spousal abuse rules apply (in sentencing of aboriginals).

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa

Judge Alan Fradsham of the Alberta Provincial Court recently decided that the same tough policy for sentencing spouse abusers applies to aboriginals and non-aboriginals alike despite the Criminal Code section that allows judges to consider an offender's aboriginal status as a factor that may influence sentencing. The convicted person in this case was a 29-year-old aboriginal man who assaulted his common law wife in 1998. Judge Fradsham decided that the tough policy in Alberta on sentencing spousal assault offenders is just as important as the Criminal Code...