Second degree murder
R. v. Sutherland
Sentence and the Crown's position
Crown askedLife, no parole for 10 years1
Judge imposedLife imprisonment, no parole for 10 years1
Both are life sentences, so the bars compare how long before parole can be considered.
What the law allows
MaximumLife imprisonment
Crown askedLife, no parole for 10 years
Judge imposedLife, no parole for 10 years
Defence askedLife, no parole for 10 years
Shane Vernon Sutherland pleaded guilty on the first day of trial to the second degree murder of his spouse in Fort St. John in 2021. The Crown and defence jointly proposed life imprisonment with parole ineligibility of ten years. Justice Warren accepted the joint submission, stating that absent the guilty plea and joint submission she would have set ineligibility at no less than 12 years.
In the judge's words
1[62] Absent the guilty plea and the joint submission, I would have set parole ineligibility in this case at no less than 12 years. As I have already noted, this murder was exceptionally heinous and Mr. Sutherland's moral culpability is high.
The record
- Convicted of
- Second degree murder (CC 231(7))
- Prior convictions
- 0 prior convictions1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- Life, no parole for 10 years1
- Mandatory minimum
- Applied1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: M.R. Blow
Defence: C. Elden, S.E. Hiscock
Sources
- R. v. Sutherland, 2023 BCSC 1990 Court decision, CanLII, October 19, 2023
[4] The Crown and defence have presented a joint submission on sentence which proposes a period of parole ineligibility of ten years.
[4] The Crown and defence have presented a joint submission on sentence which proposes a period of parole ineligibility of ten years.
[45] By virtue of s. 235(1) and s. 745(c) of the Code, a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for at least ten years is mandatory upon a conviction of second degree murder.
[1] On what was to be the first day of the trial, Mr. Sutherland pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of his spouse, … on February 8, 2021.
[30] Mr. Sutherland has no record of previous convictions.
[62] Absent the guilty plea and the joint submission, I would have set parole ineligibility in this case at no less than 12 years. As I have already noted, this murder was exceptionally heinous and Mr. Sutherland's moral culpability is high.
[74] You have pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of … For the reasons I have given, I sentence you to imprisonment for life without eligibility of parole until you have served ten years of your sentence.
- R. v. Sutherland, 2023 BCSC 1990 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia