Crown calls for judge to jail mosque shooter for 150 years
Bissonnette may face consecutive terms; defence says that would be ‘unduly long’
QUEBEC Alexandre Bissonnette’s crimes were so vile, so unprecedented, so meticulously planned, so cold-bloodedly carried out, so clearly spurred by bigotry, so devastating to so many people that he should spend the rest of his life behind bars, a Crown prosecutor argued Tuesday.
Bissonnette, who killed six Muslim men in a Quebec City mosque in 2017, should get a life sentence with no chance for parole for 150 years — the most severe sentence since Canada abolished the death penalty, prosecutor Thomas Jacques told Quebec Superior Court Justice François Huot.
“They were vile and repulsive,” Jacques said of Bissonnette’s “odious crimes,” committed with “unspeakable violence” as the killer “unfurled his rage and hatred in order to glorify himself.”
Bissonnette, 28, has pleaded guilty to six first-degree murder charges and six of attempted murder.
A 150-year sentence would consist of six consecutive 25-year sentences — one for each of the murder charges.
Huot is expected to hand down his sentence in September but he hinted on Tuesday that he’s leaning toward consecutive sentences.
Speaking directly to Bissonnette, Huot said it’s “probable” that he will impose consecutive sentences. That could mean 50, 75, 100, 125 or 150 years before parole eligibility.
Before outlining the reasons for the 150-year recommendation, Jacques told Huot that the Crown is not seeking vengeance but “a just sentence proportional to the gravity of the crime and Bissonnette’s moral responsibility.”
The prosecutor listed off factors he said support the recommendation:
For years, Bissonnette eagerly ■ anticipated the “glory” he would achieve by carrying out a murderous attack, Jacques said.
Bissonnette targeted a sacred ■ place full of defenceless people. He was motivated by “hate and prejudices,” having denigrated Muslims and immigrants. “The case of Alexandre Bissonnette could be considered one of the most hateful in Canadian history,” Jacques said. “It was a crime obviously motivated by hate.”
Over several weeks, Bissonnette ■ conducted 82 internet searches about the mosque. “He consulted prayer times to ensure there were people there, to ensure he would do the most damage possible,” Jacques said.
Bissonnette carefully chose his ■
“arsenal of destruction” — a semiautomatic handgun and a semiautomatic rifle — to do the most damage possible, and he selected weapons for which he had the most ammunition. He had 108 rounds with him.
Minutes before the attack, Bissonnette ■ was still researching the guns he brought to the mosque. Earlier, he watched videos showing self-defence tactics during active-shooter events more than 150 times, some of which included tactics he used in the attack.
Bissonnette showed his coldblooded ■ determination and “boundless cruelty” as he arrived at the mosque. When his rifle wouldn’t fire, he smiled at the two men he was aiming at as if to indicate it was a joke, Jacques said. Then he took out a handgun and killed them, walking up to the slumped bodies and shooting the men in the head, “gangster-style,” Jacques said.
Four children were in the ■ mosque, including a young girl in a purple toque in the middle of the prayer room. “The presence of children didn’t slow down the murderous plan,” Jacques said. Bissonnette’s avowed remorse is questionable because he has lied repeatedly, including to his parents, the 911 operator, the police interrogator and psychiatrists, Jacques said.
Bissonnette left 17 children ■ fatherless by killing Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti. Five other men were injured by gunfire. Another 35, including four children, were in the mosque. Survivors and family members continue to suffer psychologically, Jacques said.
Bissonnette’s legal team has recommended he serve 25 years before being allowed to apply for parole, arguing a 150-year sentence is unconstitutional and “unduly long and harsh.”
Ottawa changed the Criminal Code in 2011 to allow for consecutive sentences in multiple-murder cases, as opposed to concurrent sentences. Whether to apply consecutive sentences is left to the discretion of judges.
Earlier Tuesday, Bissonnette’s lawyers went through the 17 cases where consecutive sentences could have been handed down since 2011, suggesting such sentences were given to hardened and unrepentant criminals or in cases involving depravity including cannibalism.
Charles-Olivier Gosselin, one of Bissonnette’s lawyers, argued Bissonnette doesn’t fit that mould because he has expressed remorse and experts say he can be rehabilitated.
But the judge noted Bissonnette is also unique in that his crimes targeted a particular group — Muslims.
“It is, to my knowledge, a unique situation, where … victims were targeted because they belonged to a particular group,” Huot told Gosselin. “It’s rather difficult to try to compare one horrific situation to another horrific situation. It can be futile.”
In the gallery on Tuesday were members of the Muslim community, including family members of victims and Aymen Derbali, left in a wheelchair after being shot seven times while trying to stop Bissonnette.
Sitting in a glass-walled prisoner’s box, Bissonnette showed little emotion most of the day but broke down in tears twice as Jacques described the killer’s tendency to make things up.
After the lunch break, Bissonnette waved at his parents in the gallery. His father acknowledged the wave by giving Bissonnette a thumbs up.
On Wednesday, Huot is scheduled to hear arguments about the constitutionality of consecutive sentences.
The defence is to assert that consecutive sentences are unconstitutional because the Charter of Rights protects Canadians from “any cruel and unusual punishment.” The Quebec attorney general’s office is to argue that such sentences are constitutional.