Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
The family of Baljit ( Grewal ) Kondolay are still suffering and will continue to suffer from the tragedy of her murder. The fact that she is gone forever from our lives is hard enough to bear. Even so, the pain has been intensified through enduring the trail process. Seeing the faces of the monsters—who killed a beloved sister, mother, daughter, and friend—everyday for five weeks was torture. Watching the videotape of the crime scene and going through the evidence and then anxiously waiting for the verdict was indescribable agony.
We thought we could finally move on with our lives when Ajit Grewal and Sukhjit Grewal were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for twenty-five years, and Sonny Toor was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in a prison with no chance of parole for twelve years. But all three men are planning to appeal to the B. C. Supreme Court to change this decision. Sonny Toor has already been given the opportunity to be released on bail of $500,000 after only serving three months of his LIFE sentence. In light of this, the sentences that these convicted murderers have been dealt seem to have lost their meaning. The heart-wrenching trial process that we suffered through seems to have been in vain. How many more trials will we, the victims, have to suffer through before these criminals suffer the consequences of their actions? Where is the accountability?
The issue that must be addressed is “ Who does the justice system really look after? In Canada, the rights of criminals seem to have exceeded the rights of the victims. How ironic that it started in the courtroom. While the murderers sat on cushy chairs next to their lawyers, we (the victims) sat for hours on hard benches; their meals were paid for, while we paid for our own; the accused were provided free transportation to and from the trial center, yet we had to pay for our own gas, transportation and our parking fees: the counseling and legal representation of the accused was paid for, while we had to pay for such services ourselves: the trial also caused us to miss work and have to make arrangements for baby sitters, additional costs. Yet all the while, the criminals were taken care of by the system. Certainly, these are all minor inconveniences in contrast to the suffering and grief brought upon us by Baljit’s murder. However we did not choose to be victims, nor did we choose to have to endure a painful trial process. The three convicted murderers, on the other hand, did make a choice, they chose to commit this horrific crime, and that is the choice that has affected our lives in this very negative manner. In fact, their choice will affect us (Baljit’s family) for the rest of our lives.
One would assume that for a crime bearing such devastating effects on the life of the victim and her family, there perpetrators would receive a punishment that bears equal weight on their lives. Granted, these murderers have all received life sentences. But what sort of punishment will they receive? Certainly, they are not free men: they must remain within prison, but how much of a punishment is that? Prisoners now have access to gyms, education, computers, videos, decent and regular meals, and ridiculous heating rebates. These are privileges that people on the street do not even enjoy. All this aside, the life sentences handed down to these men may not even run their full course. As mentioned earlier, all of these men will eventually have a chance of parole. Now this issue of parole is a complex issue, but does it not even sound a bit silly (or stupid) that someone handed a “life sentence” can be granted parole after a certain amount of years? The Canadian justice system seems to be more concerned about the rehabilitation of criminals that the punishment of criminals. That is, it does not seem to be as concerned with how dangerous a criminal is to society. Certainly, this is a worthy concern, however, the system must demonstrate that criminals will be held accountable for their actions.
This call to accountability must begin with the younger generation. Young people today know that the justice system is weak. They know that they can commit crimes and get away with it. The justice system must prove to them that choices create consequences. It must show them, and prove to them, that they will pay for their crimes. The system must do this for them; it must do this for the victims; it must do this for a free society. It may be difficult to get this across to and older generations. We could enjoy much more freedom in this country if we make come serious and thoughtful changes now.
We certainly would not want to see a family have to go through what our family has gone through. The terrible loss of Baljit is a great burden for us, but the very difficult trial process was also very heavy weight to endure. However, we have gained a different perspective of Canada’s justice system, albeit a frustrated one. Changes must be made. How many families will have to endure what we have endured before the victim’ voices are heard and changes are made?
The Kondolay Family
We thought we could finally move on with our lives when Ajit Grewal and Sukhjit Grewal were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for twenty-five years, and Sonny Toor was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in a prison with no chance of parole for twelve years. But all three men are planning to appeal to the B. C. Supreme Court to change this decision. Sonny Toor has already been given the opportunity to be released on bail of $500,000 after only serving three months of his LIFE sentence. In light of this, the sentences that these convicted murderers have been dealt seem to have lost their meaning. The heart-wrenching trial process that we suffered through seems to have been in vain. How many more trials will we, the victims, have to suffer through before these criminals suffer the consequences of their actions? Where is the accountability?
The issue that must be addressed is “ Who does the justice system really look after? In Canada, the rights of criminals seem to have exceeded the rights of the victims. How ironic that it started in the courtroom. While the murderers sat on cushy chairs next to their lawyers, we (the victims) sat for hours on hard benches; their meals were paid for, while we paid for our own; the accused were provided free transportation to and from the trial center, yet we had to pay for our own gas, transportation and our parking fees: the counseling and legal representation of the accused was paid for, while we had to pay for such services ourselves: the trial also caused us to miss work and have to make arrangements for baby sitters, additional costs. Yet all the while, the criminals were taken care of by the system. Certainly, these are all minor inconveniences in contrast to the suffering and grief brought upon us by Baljit’s murder. However we did not choose to be victims, nor did we choose to have to endure a painful trial process. The three convicted murderers, on the other hand, did make a choice, they chose to commit this horrific crime, and that is the choice that has affected our lives in this very negative manner. In fact, their choice will affect us (Baljit’s family) for the rest of our lives.
One would assume that for a crime bearing such devastating effects on the life of the victim and her family, there perpetrators would receive a punishment that bears equal weight on their lives. Granted, these murderers have all received life sentences. But what sort of punishment will they receive? Certainly, they are not free men: they must remain within prison, but how much of a punishment is that? Prisoners now have access to gyms, education, computers, videos, decent and regular meals, and ridiculous heating rebates. These are privileges that people on the street do not even enjoy. All this aside, the life sentences handed down to these men may not even run their full course. As mentioned earlier, all of these men will eventually have a chance of parole. Now this issue of parole is a complex issue, but does it not even sound a bit silly (or stupid) that someone handed a “life sentence” can be granted parole after a certain amount of years? The Canadian justice system seems to be more concerned about the rehabilitation of criminals that the punishment of criminals. That is, it does not seem to be as concerned with how dangerous a criminal is to society. Certainly, this is a worthy concern, however, the system must demonstrate that criminals will be held accountable for their actions.
This call to accountability must begin with the younger generation. Young people today know that the justice system is weak. They know that they can commit crimes and get away with it. The justice system must prove to them that choices create consequences. It must show them, and prove to them, that they will pay for their crimes. The system must do this for them; it must do this for the victims; it must do this for a free society. It may be difficult to get this across to and older generations. We could enjoy much more freedom in this country if we make come serious and thoughtful changes now.
We certainly would not want to see a family have to go through what our family has gone through. The terrible loss of Baljit is a great burden for us, but the very difficult trial process was also very heavy weight to endure. However, we have gained a different perspective of Canada’s justice system, albeit a frustrated one. Changes must be made. How many families will have to endure what we have endured before the victim’ voices are heard and changes are made?
The Kondolay Family
