R v Bissonnette

R v Bissonnette
Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing: March 24, 2022
Judgment: May 27, 2022
Full case nameHer Majesty The Queen and Attorney General of Quebec v Alexandre Bissonnette
Citations2022 SCC 23
Docket No.39544 [1]
Prior historyJudgment for defendant in the Court of Appeal for Quebec
Holding
Section 745.51 of the Criminal Code violates Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is of no force or effect
Court membership
Chief JusticeRichard Wagner
Puisne JusticesMichael Moldaver, Andromache Karakatsanis, Suzanne Côté, Russell Brown, Malcolm Rowe, Sheilah Martin, Nicholas Kasirer, Mahmud Jamal
Reasons given
Unanimous reasons byWagner CJ

R v Bissonnette, 2022 SCC 23 is a landmark[2] decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that life sentences without a realistic possibility of parole constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The Court unanimously struck down section 745.51 of the Criminal Code, which gave sentencing judges the discretion to stack periods of parole ineligibility for multiple murders, for violating Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[3][4][5][6]

The case arose in the sentencing for Quebec mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette and drew heavy media attention.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ SCC Case Information - Docket 39544 Supreme Court of Canada
  2. ^ "SCC strikes down law which authorized life without parole for those convicted of multiple murders - Law360 Canada". www.law360.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  3. ^ R v Bissonnette, Supreme Court of Canada SCC 23 (Supreme Court of Canada May 27, 2022).
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  4. ^ "Case in Brief: R. v. Bissonnette" (PDF). Supreme Court of Canada. May 27, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  5. ^ "Canada supreme court rules life without parole is 'cruel' and unconstitutional". The Guardian website. 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  6. ^ Fine, Sean (2022-05-27). "Supreme Court of Canada unanimously strikes down life without parole for mass murderers". The Globe and Mail website. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  7. ^ Nerestant, Antoni (2022-05-27). "Quebec City mosque shooter must get chance at parole after 25 years, Supreme Court rules". CBC News website. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  8. ^ "Supreme Court rules Quebec City mosque killer to be eligible for parole in 25 years". CTV News Montreal website. 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  9. ^ Bronskill, Jim. "Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette can apply for parole after 25 years". Global News. Retrieved 2022-05-27.