Quebec tourist convicted in Cuba 2nd time after fatal boating accident

[Seymore]

On the one hand, Cuban courts must be tough. They apparently try folks again and again until they get the verdict they want.

On the other hand, the Cuban judge fell asleep during the first trial....

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...cuba-1.4959124

[Paul L]

In July, Cuba's top court overturned Toufik Benhamiche's previous conviction of four years in prison for criminal negligence causing death, citing flaws in a lower court's handling of the case.

I don't know, that sounds like a normal process in the US when an upper court throws out a conviction and the procsecutor decides to refile the case.

[hellosailor]

But if the defendant is already guilty before the trial starts, and the verdict predetermined, then it really doesn't matter if the judge is awake or asleep, does it? He's just supposed to BE THERE to show everyone justice is being done.

[Paul L]

I'm not trying to plug the Cuban justice system for fairness, but little in this article really seems unfair. He did kill a women in a fairly reckless way.
The US system pretty heavily weighted to guilty before you start also

On average, 94 percent of state-level felony convictions are the result of plea bargains, as well as around 97 percent of federal convictions.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I'm not trying to plug the Cuban justice system for fairness, but little in this article really seems unfair. He did kill a women in a fairly reckless way.
The US system pretty heavily weighted to guilty before you start also

Yup. Everyone (pretty heavily weighted, at least) in the U.S. is guilty until proven innocent, it’s memorialized in our Constitution

[Va2shp]

I am not sure what this post is doing in Cruisers forum?

[Christopherlour]

Unfortunate way to learn a new language ie. Spanish.

[boatman1]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I'm not trying to plug the Cuban justice system for fairness, but little in this article really seems unfair. He did kill a women in a fairly reckless way.
The US system pretty heavily weighted to guilty before you start also

Well, golly: In reading the newspaper report, there was no mention that the guy "killed a woman in a reckless way". Where does that come from? Sure sounds like an accident with tragic consequences.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I'm not trying to plug the Cuban justice system for fairness, but little in this article really seems unfair. He did kill a women in a fairly reckless way.
The US system pretty heavily weighted to guilty before you start also

Hi Paul, I think the correct answer is yes and no. Certainly most criminal trials result in a conviction. This however does not necessarily mean the system is weighted towards a guilty verdict before you start a trial. We must remember that there is more to the system than just the trial. In particular there are a whole series of steps that must be taken to determine if there is a preponderance of evidence that will result in a conviction. A significant part of this process is what is called due process where evidence in many cases must be shared with the defendant, opportunities are presented to challenge evidence and parts of the process, etc. There are many judges, prosecutors, legislators, etc. who argue that there are too many ways for the guilty to get off due to technicalities.


I am not arguing one way or another as I have seen abuses on both sides of the coin. I am also not going to argue our system versus other systems. I will simply point out that a high conviction rate here in the U.S. is usually due to prosecutors not going to trial unless they feel confident that they can get a conviction. In many cases this results in a criminal going free or getting a lesser conviction due to a plea bargain.

[B_Hunter45]

Personally, as a rule I do not travel to countries that do not have a real human rights charter. Do not want to spend time in jail for looking to the wrong direction. Do not want to be a pawn in trade wars etc.

[boatman61]

Gotta laugh.. We have one thread where everyones stressed coz a young native scratches a boat.. and here we have a thread saying (white guy) killing someone and getting 4yrs for it is unfair..
CF members never cease to amaze..

[Mike OReilly]

Interesting … I saw the broadcast news story. It contains a lot more than the text linked here. It includes a description of the incident from the accused fellow where he blames resort staff for not training him properly regarding the operation of the speed boat.

https://youtu.be/-03MJtvLcoQ

After listening to this I am less sympathetic to my fellow Canadian’s plight, although I feel greater sympathy to the other Canadian whom he killed. I’m sure the Cuban justice system is questionable, at best. But it does sound like a case of negligence causing death, which in Canada could result in a prison sentence of 10 years or even life.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Mike, thank you for that additional information. I was just going to comment that there is a lot of missing information in this article. The inference in the initial posting is that there were irregularities or some sort of injustice done at the trials. The article suggests nothing of the sort but again, there is little information provided. Was the trial reasonably fair? What were the circumstances of the accident? The accused's argument that he wasn't trained properly sounds pretty lame. Ultimately it is up to an individual to ensure that they are comfortable with whatever they are doing. It is certainly possible that the operator was negligent to at least some extent but without details who knows.

[gulfcoastsailor]

Originally Posted by Va2shp

I am not sure what this post is doing in Cruisers forum?

Hell, I’m not sure why 35% of the posts are here!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Va2shp

I am not sure what this post is doing in Cruisers forum?

Seems like a good topic for this forum to me: boating related event that results in incarceration in a foreign land that is frequented by many cruisers. How is this not a CF topic .