Lovers who killed estranged husband seek early release
Man and woman serving life sentences request hearing under faint-hope clause
Two former lovers who conspired to murder the woman’s estranged husband want a chance to convince juries they’ve spent enough time behind bars.
But one of the two may have missed his window of opportunity to have a so-called faint-hope clause hearing in the near future.
Joseph (Joey) Bruso was told by Associate Chief Justice John Rooke he should seek legal advice after Crown prosecutor Carla Macphail told court he missed his deadline for commencing his application for a reduction in parole ineligibility.
Macphail noted a section of the Criminal Code permits convicted murderers, once they have served 15 years in prison, to commence a faint hope application.
But Macphail said that bid must be commenced within 90 days of the 15-year anniversary of their incarceration and can only be extended by court order for another 90 days.
She said because Bruso was arrested June 28, 2003, for the murder of Nicholas Maradyn, he had until late last December to fit within the guideline, or wait another five years to apply.
Bruso filed an application with the B.C. Supreme Court in October, before being directed to reapply in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench.
The prosecutor said it’s possible Bruso could get a constitutional exemption to the mandated application period, but would have to file a court challenge to the legislation. That was successfully done in 2016 by defence lawyer Kim Ross in an unrelated case, when a convicted murderer was misinformed by correctional officials before missing the deadline.
Rooke suggested Bruso, who is incarcerated in Abbotsford, B.C., contact Ross or lawyer Balfour Der, who is acting for the convicted killer’s ex-girlfriend, Nancy Mckinnon, to determine if either could assist him.
Der successfully got an order from Rooke for an institutional assessment of Mckinnon, who is serving her sentence at a women’s prison in the B.C. Lower Mainland.
The assessment is the first step in a judicial screening process that has to be conducted to determine if a convicted killer can apply to a jury for a parole reduction.
Both Mckinnon and Bruso were convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder in the June 14, 2003, shooting death of Maradyn, who was shot while in his truck on an isolated section of Highway 2A near Crossfield.
Mckinnon lured him to the area under the ruse of car trouble, and Bruso shot him with a high-powered rifle from tall grass about 20 metres away.
Both were handed life sentences without parole for a minimum of 25 years, but a section of the Criminal Code allows applications to reduce that after 15 years have been served.
Both convicted killers’ cases are scheduled to return to court in March, when Der hopes he can convince Rooke to allow a faint hope application to proceed for Mckinnon, while Bruso will be offered an opportunity to seek a constitutional exemption.