In certain portions of British Columbia, polygamy is very popular, but the Canadian government was supposedly going to “crack down” on this practice.
Well, apparently in Canada getting serious about polygamy means giving just 6 months of house arrest to someone that was found guilty of having 24 wives…
Winston Blackmore was found guilty of having 24 wives, while the court found James Oler had five wives.
Blackmore’s six-month conditional sentence to be served under house arrest allows him to go to work and deal with medical emergencies. Oler’s term is three months of house arrest. Both face 12 months of probation.
Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said that while both men are hard-working and otherwise law-abiding, a discharge by the court would not have been appropriate, given the gravity of their offenses, including some of the men’s wives being as young as 15 when they were married.
If the goal is to deter others from engaging in polygamy in the future, this simply is not going to cut it.