Bain convicted in Quebec election night shooting

STAGEHAND KILLED IN 2012 NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING ON ELECTION NIGHT

Richard Henry Bain, accused of shooting and killing lighting technician Denis Blanchette on the night of the 2012 Quebec provincial election, has been found guilty of second-degree murder.

The 12-member jury reached the verdict Tuesday after 11 days of deliberations.

Bain, 65, was also found guilty of three counts of attempted murder outside Montreal’s Metropolis nightclub while then-Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois was giving her victory speech.

“I hope the victims will be satisfied with the jury’s verdicts, and that this will allow them to turn the page on these tragic events four years later,” said Crown prosecutor Dennis Galiatsatos. “Mr. Bain attacked stage technicians, working men and women and police. But he also attacked democracy and the very values we stand for … I also hope the verdicts help the country and the province turn the page on this sad chapter in our history.”

On Sept. 4, 2012, Bain fired a single bullet, killing Blanchette, 48, and severely injuring another stagehand, David Courage, before his gun jammed.

Video of Bain’s arrest showed him dressed in a ski mask and a blue bathrobe, shouting “The English are waking up!”

One of the attempted murder charges stemmed from Courage’s injuries, while another was for the attempted murder of 12 other stagehands who were outside the venue waiting for the victory party to end; and the third for pointing his gun at police Sgt. Stéphane Champagne.

Gael Ghiringhelli, one of the 12 who carried Courage into the Metropolis after he was wounded, attended every day of the trial until the verdict was read soon after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s been four years since the night we were shot at while having a cigarette, four years that we’ve been waiting for answers and four years that we’ve been suffering,” she said.

“If his gun hadn’t jammed, I wouldn’t be here today.

“We technicians were like a family and (Blanchette) was a member of our family who was taken away from us for mediocre reasons.”

In his final instructions to the jury, Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer said the case was primarily about Bain’s state of mind on that night.

Jurors had four verdicts to consider for the killing of Blanchette: guilty of first degree murder; guilty of second-degree murder; guilty of manslaughter; or not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

The Crown argued Bain was aware of his actions, that political issues fuelled his anger and that he intended to kill.

Psychiatrist Joel Watts, called by the Crown, said Bain’s action were the result

IF MY RIFLE HAD NOT JAMMED I WOULD HAVE KILLED OTHER PEOPLE.

of his deep anger and resentment over the Parti Québécois victory.

But his lawyer, Alan Guttman, argued his client should be found not criminally responsible because he was suffering from a mental disorder

Bain was psychotic and delusional the night of the killing, Guttman said.

Testifying for the defence, psychiatrist Marie-Frédérique Allard said she believed Bain was suffering from a mental disorder after abusing anti-depressants for months. He experienced a similar manic episode in 2009.

Perhaps most damning — and what the Crown focused heavily on during closing arguments — were Bain’s handwritten answers to Allard after she met him on Nov. 9, 2012.

He wrote he planned to kill as many separatists as he could: “If my rifle had not jammed I would have killed other people,” he wrote. “If inside, if Madame Marois could be seen, I would have killed her.”

Outside the courtroom, Guttman said he would ask for the minimum sentence of life, with parole eligibility after 10 years.

“He’ll be 66 in September,” he said. “If he were found guilty of first-degree murder, it would have meant a death sentence.”

Bain could be paroled after 10 years, after spending four years in custody.