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Court dismisses appeal of Tori Stafford killer Michael Raffe
Court Dismisses Appeal Of Tori Stafford Killer Michael Rafferty
Headline 2
$1.25
Friday, November 04 , 2016
Vol XCIII, No. 311
Issue/Viewpoint:
Summary
A viewpoints mentioned in the article is The father of the victim who is content that the court has dismissed Rafferty's appeal. Family of the victim and supporters cheered when the judges dismissed the appeal.
The issue that is being debated is whether or not life sentencing (25 years) is enough to convict someone who is guilty of kidnapping, sexual assault (rape), causing bodily harm and first degree murder.
Quotation 1
Ontario's top court rejected all the arguments raised on appeal by the man, Michael Rafferty, who killed eight-year-old Victoria Stafford, ruling that the performance of the trial judge who handled the original case was "exemplary." Michael Rafferty was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 with no chance of parole for 25 years for kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm and first-degree murder in the death of the Woodstock, Ont., girl. McClintic (Rafferty’s accomplice) told the court a horrifying story of a drug-addled couple abducting a young girl at random for the man’s sexual pleasure, then killing her with inconceivable brutality. She claimed Rafferty was directing her every step of the way, ordering her to snatch a young girl for him, making her buy a hammer and garbage bags then getting her to help him clean up at the murder scene. Rafferty’s lawyer suggested he was an innocent dupe to a plan concocted entirely by McClintic, but the Crown at trial argued it didn’t matter whether McClintic or Rafferty physically killed the girl — he was guilty because they acted together.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe that life sentencing (25 years) is enough for the actions that Rafferty has committed? Why?
2. Would you give Rafferty’s accomplice McClintic a sentence the same as Rafferty’s or a different sentence?
3. Do you think that justice has been served based on Rafferty and his accomplice's sentence? (25 year sentence)
Why I Have Selected This Article
I selected this article because this case interested me in the sense that after everything Rafferty has done and the court having proof of it, they tried to blame the judge saying he made several errors, including failing to warn the jury against relying on the testimony of McClintic, claiming she could have been the driving force behind the murder. The court has proof of Rafferty’s actions within the crime that was committed and also, its scary to think and read about these criminals that sometimes are let free because of errors that are made with the judge or the court, even though that wasn’t the case with Rafferty.