Supreme Court decision could affect Justin Bourque’s sentence: Lawyer
Supreme Court decision could affect Justin Bourque’s sentence: Lawyer
Supreme Court decision could affect Justin Bourque’s sentence: Lawyer
The lawyer who represented a man who murdered three RCMP officers nearly eight years ago in Moncton, N.B., said Friday’s Supreme Court decision, striking down consecutive periods of parole ineligibility in cases of multiple first degree murders, may potentially change his sentence.
On June 4, 2014, Justin Bourque shot and killed Codiac RCMP constables Dave Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan, and Doug Larche in a Moncton shooting rampage that led to a 28-hour manhunt before being captured. Constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen were also injured in the shootings.
Bourque was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced later that year to serve 75 years in prison before parole eligibility.
The sentence was possible due to a 2011 amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code allowing consecutive 25-year parole ineligibility periods to be imposed in cases of mass murderers.
Lawyer David Lutz, who represented Bourque in the 2014 trial, said Friday’s Supreme Court decision supported “the idea of rehabilitation.”
Lutz told CTV Atlantic he planned to speak with Bourque as soon as he was able to.
“I can only tell him about the decision and tell him my expectation of what’s going to happen, and once again be patient,” said Lutz. “I think it will be on a case-by-case basis. But I think overall, the fact that the law was declared invalid, it’s not like they’re getting a pardon. It’s just they now have a faint hope that they will be able to rehabilitate themselves, that after 25 years they can rejoin society.”
Lutz said he expected the Supreme Court decision to be unpopular with many in the general public, adding it could push the federal government to create new laws in the form of crime prevention.
“This decision, I believe, if followed through all the way will make us safe,” said Lutz. “I would bet two to one that before five o’clock today, Justin Trudeau is going to sit down with the Minister of Justice Lametti and say, ‘Get a move on, get a move on collecting these AK-47’s and AR-15’s, we got to get them off the street before the next multiple murder,’ because of this decision.”
In an interview Friday with CTV’s Question Period, Justice Minister David Lametti said he supported judges having discretion in handing down sentences they felt were appropriate.
“Does that mean I’m always in favour of consecutive sentences? No,” said Lametti. “But I do want the judge to have that kind of discretion in cases where it’s necessary. We’ll go back and look at this and look at it carefully and see if there’s a path forward.”
Several people have been shot, two suspects have been arrested and police are searching for a possible third suspect after an attempted bank robbery in Saanich, B.C.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a key aide in Donald Trump's White House, told the House committee investigating the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on Tuesday that Trump was informed that people rallying on the mall that morning had weapons but he told officials to 'let my people in' and march to the Capitol.
The top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who is testifying before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot was a young, fast-rising star in the Trump administration.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
A scathing letter from an RCMP communications manager released today says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki referred to direct pressure from the federal public safety minister to release firearm details in the days after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
The federal Liberal government has agreed to provide sensitive cabinet documents to the inquiry examining its use of the Emergencies Act during the "Freedom Convoy" protest.
A jury at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of three women murdered by their former partner is recommending that Ontario formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic and establish an independent commission dedicated to eradicating it.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after Ottawa police officers shot and killed a man and injured a woman while responding to the stabbing deaths of two women.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
A coroner's report released Tuesday is calling on Quebec to teach new drivers to open their car doors with their right hand in order to prevent dooring incidents with cyclists.
The Supreme Court of Canada struck down a law passed by the former Stephen Harper Conservatives that allows a judge to increase parole ineligibility periods for offenders who commit multiple murders. Now there’s fear it could mean sentence “discounts” for other mass murderers.
A 65-year-old suspect in Timmins has been arrested for disturbing the peace for repeatedly using an "air cannon," or a device that makes extremely loud, air raid-like noises.
Ontario's new natural resources minister, former Bracebridge mayor Graydon Smith, is facing a hearing to determine whether he harmed a threatened turtle species when he was the mayor of the small town.
Witnesses said a man used a jack to free a female cyclist trapped underneath a vehicle at the corner of Glengarry Avenue and Fanshawe Park Road East early Tuesday afternoon.
Through the use of MRI technology and spearheaded by researchers at Western University, the cause of long COVID symptoms have been identified for the first time.
Pembina Valley RCMP charged a 29-year-old woman earlier this month after her 13-year-old daughter and six of her friends were involved in an off-road vehicle (ORV) crash.
A new estimate by Doctors Manitoba shows the backlog of diagnostic tests and surgeries that built up during the pandemic has fallen since last month, but there are still more than 100,000 procedures on the wait list.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a key aide in Donald Trump's White House, told the House committee investigating the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on Tuesday that Trump was informed that people rallying on the mall that morning had weapons but he told officials to 'let my people in' and march to the Capitol.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after Ottawa police officers shot and killed a man and injured a woman while responding to the stabbing deaths of two women.
A jury at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of three women murdered by their former partner is recommending that Ontario formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic and establish an independent commission dedicated to eradicating it.
The premier of British Columbia has announced he won't seek a third term, but will remain on the job until the provincial NDP can hold a leadership convention.
Several people have been shot, two suspects have been arrested and police are searching for a possible third suspect after an attempted bank robbery in Saanich, B.C.
The body of a 19-year-old man who went missing while swimming at the public beach in Buena Vista, Sask. on Last Mountain Lake has been recovered, according to RCMP.
Several people have been shot, two suspects have been arrested and police are searching for a possible third suspect after an attempted bank robbery in Saanich, B.C.
"Officers initially detained the driver for impaired driving by alcohol, however their focus quickly diverted after noting that he was literally holding in his hands two bricks of suspected cocaine," said Nanaimo RCMP in a release Tuesday.
The premier of British Columbia has announced he won't seek a third term, but will remain on the job until the provincial NDP can hold a leadership convention.
