The Supreme Court of Canada is slated to rule this morning on the sentencing of a man who went on a deadly shooting spree at a Quebec City mosque.
The high court decision in Alexandre Bissonnette's case will determine the constitutionality of a key provision on parole eligibility in multiple murder convictions.
Bissonnette pleaded guilty to six charges of first-degree murder in the January 2017 assault that took place just after evening prayers.
In 2019, Bissonnette successfully challenged a 2011 law that allowed a court, in the event of multiple murders, to impose a life sentence and parole ineligibility periods of 25 years to be served consecutively for each murder.
A judge found the provision unconstitutional but did not declare it invalid, ultimately ruling Bissonnette must wait 40 years before applying for parole.
Quebec's Court of Appeal struck down the sentencing provision on constitutional grounds and said the parole ineligibility periods should be served concurrently, meaning a total waiting period of 25 years in Bissonnette's case.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2022.
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The rights of Alexandre
The rights of Alexandre Bissonnette were the central issue of this prolonged massacre case--not those of the victims he slaughtered. Yet, apparently the Crown Prosecution Service made no effort to declare him a Dangerous Offender under this Criminal Code provision, instead depending on consecutive sentencing, which has now failed. It is unlikely that a retroactive application for Dangerous Offender status will now succeed, although this multiple murderer should also have been tried and convicted as a domestic terrorist--an applicable criminal status strongly opposed by the political-legal culture of Quebec. This is not a great time for Canadian justice.
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