The Supreme Court upheld Alexandre Bissonnette’s sentence of 25 years

In a unanimous decision made on Friday, the nation’s highest court rejected the prosecution’s request in the case of Alexandre Bissonnette, who killed six worshipers who gathered at Quebec’s Islamic Cultural Center on the night of January 29, 2017.

decision should not be viewed as a devaluation of the life of every innocent victim. Everyone agrees that mass murder is inherently heinous actswill carefully identify Chief Justice Richard Wagner, who wrote the judgment.

The Supreme Court repealed a provision of the Criminal Code enacted by the Harper government in 2011 that allows for increased sentences in the case of multiple murders.

Retroactive decision

This decision is retroactive. It will therefore apply to other murderers sentenced to successive sentences, including the author of the Portapique massacre, Justin Bourque, who is currently serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole for 75 years.

In his judgment, Justice Wagner noted that section 745.51 allows for the imposition of a sentence beyond life expectancy, a sentence that stupidity is likely to cause damage to the administration of justicehe wrote.

This provision of the Criminal Code has been declared invalid because it violates section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which prohibits penalties. cruel and unusual.

” Such punishments are modest, and therefore contrary to human dignity, because they remove the offenders of any possibility of social reunification, which is assumed, in a final and irreversible manner, which is not they possess the capacity to adjust their ways. in society. “

In its judgment, the Supreme Court cited a study on the life expectancy of prisoners who die of natural causes on average at age 60, which is lower than the national average of 81 years.

Respect human dignity

The highest court in the land believes that Parliament should leave the door open for rehabilitation to respect human dignity, even in cases where this goal is insignificant.

As the Court of Appeal did, the Supreme Court reviewed the decision of the judge of first instance, François Huot, who imposed Bissonnette on 4 years in prison, to a lesser extent.

” The imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 75, 100, 125, even 800 years, the conclusion is clear. The individual is sentenced to die in prison, deprived of any possibility of one day regaining part of his liberty. “

The Supreme Court also found out that Justice Huot has exceeded the limits of his judicial duties stay away from the 25-year coverage set forth in the Criminal Code.

Heinous crimes

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court therefore adjourned the Parole Board, recalling that Experience shows that the Commission generally proceeds with caution and caution before making an important decision such as the release of many murderers..

” Eligibility for parole is not a parole right. “

Judge Wagner also wrote Bissonnette has committed heinous crimes, which have damaged our social fabric. Out of anger, he took the lives of six innocent victims and inflicted serious, even permanent, physical and psychological damage on the survivors of the massacre..

Regardless of the cruelty of the acts, the court came to that conclusion the horrors of the crimes do not invalidate the basic premise that all human beings possess within them the capacity to rehabilitate themselves..

Alexandre Bissonnette will be able to apply for parole in 2042. He will be 52 years old.

More details to come