Alexandre Bissonnette has pleaded guilty to murder in the Mosque shooting.
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The final pieces arrived in defence hands Sunday night. They didn’t have a chance to review it with Bissonnette until after he’s re-entered his not-guilty plea Monday.
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Bissonnette announced his change Monday, to the shock of everyone not his psychiatrist or lawyer. The judge grilled him on his state of mind, ordered a psychiatric report, and imposed a publication ban until five minutes ago.
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The psychiatrist confirmed he is fit to make his plea, which carries a life sentence and a very heavy term with no parole.
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On Monday it was quite a moment when the judge took the plea in a mostly empty courtroom and named the six dead, five wounded, and 35 others who were targeted for attempted murder.
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Much more so when the exercise was repeated again today, with widows, and hero Aymen Derbali sitting in the crowd with dozens more community members.
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Bissonnette told the judge he wants to spare everyone the trauma of reliving events. The state-appointed psychiatrist confirmed it was something he had been mulling a long time.
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Guilty pleas for first degree murder are rare in part because there isn’t much flexibility in sentencing other than whether parole eligibility is beyond 25 years. No deal on parole eligibility has been mentioned.
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The judge and lawyers are trying to sort out a date for sentencing when we will surely hear more details about Bissonnette’s life, state of mind, motives. We will also hear from victims and their families.
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Bissonnette has given a three-minute statement where he expressed regret while denying he is either a terrorist or an Islamophobe.
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He said he was in a very dark place, taken over by fear and hopelessness, where he was obsessed by death. He said he has trouble explaining what happened that night.
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“I would like to ask you to forgive me, but I recognize my act is unforgivable,” he said, turning to the widows, wounded and families in the gallery.
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He hopes he can help in a small way by pleading guilty.
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Just one final (I think) other addition to this thread: Crown prosecutor Thomas Jacques came out to emphasize there was no plea bargain on parole eligibility or any other discussions. Bissonnette decided on his own.
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End of conversation
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