The parents of a 35-year-old man who was shot dead on the campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton a decade ago say they are outraged by a recent Supreme Court ruling that could allow their son’s killer to be entitled to parole. -early than expected. .
Travis Baumgartner, an armored car security guard who pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of three of his colleagues in June 2012, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years.
But thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, he may be entitled to parole after 15 years.
Diane and Mike Ilezic, whose son Brian Ilezic was one of Baumgartner’s victims, criticized the decision at a news conference on Tuesday.
“Both Mike and I are worried about what the Supreme Court has done,” said Diane Ilesic.
She said she and her husband had lost confidence in the federal government because it had not taken steps to counter the decision.
The court ruled the provision unconstitutional
Canadians convicted of first-degree murder are automatically sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for 25 years.
The Conservative federal government of Stephen Harper introduced a provision for the sentence in 2011, which gave judges the opportunity to accumulate parole periods for multiple murders.
In a unanimous ruling last month, the Supreme Court found the provision unconstitutional because it violated Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 12 protects the right not to receive cruel and unusual punishment.
“Such sentences are humiliating in nature and therefore incompatible with human dignity, as they deny offenders any possibility of reintegration into society,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote in the ruling.
Baumgartner was the first person in Canada to be convicted under the new provision.
His lawyer, Peter Royal, has not yet responded to a request for an interview.
The federal government can act, he said
The Ilesiki family are members of Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who hosted a news conference Tuesday at a hotel in northwest Edmonton.
The St. Albert-Edmonton MP, who has known the couple since 2016, called the Supreme Court’s decision “unfair and scandalous.”
Brian Ilezic was killed on the U of A campus on June 15, 2012.
He said the federal government must invoke the rarely used clause of the Charter to overturn the decision or create a new law that allows judges to impose a term of imprisonment of more than 25 years on people convicted of many murders.
“It’s not something to be taken lightly, but in this case, the court is really wrong,” Cooper said.
The Alberta government is also calling on the federal government to invoke the waiver clause.
The federal government respects the court decision
The federal government said that while it supported the judges’ assessment of imposing longer parole periods in some cases, it would uphold the Supreme Court’s decision.
“We respect the independence of the Court. We will respect its unanimous decision and carefully assess the way forward to ensure that the system does a better job of preventing crime and bringing perpetrators to justice,” said Chantal Oberten, a spokesman for the justice minister. David Lametti, in an email.
“Murder is one of the most serious crimes in the Penal Code and carries the most severe punishment – a mandatory life sentence – the decision of the Supreme Court does not change this fact.
“Furthermore, the conditions of parole do not guarantee that a person will receive parole. It will be up to the Canada Parole Board to determine whether Mr Travis Baumgartner, like any other convicted murderer, is eligible for parole after 25 years. “
Oberten said that, although legal, “the use of the independence clause is extremely serious, as it leads to the termination of the legal protection guaranteed by the Charters of Rights and Freedoms.”
The Baumgartner case is not the only case in Alberta that can be affected retrospectively.
The Alberta Court of Appeals has ruled that the sentences of four convicted multiple murderers – Derek Sarecki, Edward Downey, Joshua Frank and Jason Klaus – will be changed after the verdict.
Last month, Robert Keith Major pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in Hinton’s murder of 24-year-old Michelle Bush and her young child Noah McConnell.
Major’s sentencing was postponed until the fall pending a ruling by the Supreme Court.
Verna Sand, a close family friend of Bush’s fiancé and Noah’s father, Cody McConnell, said she and other supporters could not believe the Supreme Court ruling.
She said the decision was disappointing because it gave priority to the rights and freedoms of criminals.
“In our courts, we are more concerned about their rights and freedoms than about the families and people who have been killed,” she said.
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