Second degree murder
R. v. Bacon
Sentence and the Crown's position
Crown askedLife, no parole for 20 years1
Judge imposedLife imprisonment, no parole eligibility for 20 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 20 years
Judge imposedLife, no parole for 20 years
Defence askedLife, no parole for 20 years
Steven Bacon pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of a 16-year-old girl. Crown and defence jointly recommended that parole ineligibility be fixed at 20 years. Justice Baird imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment and, at the joint recommendation of counsel, set parole ineligibility at 20 years.
In the judge's words
1Mr. Bacon, as you clearly realise, you have committed an appalling crime, a cowardly crime, a vicious crime. You have robbed a 16-year-old child of all the remaining years of her life. You have cast a permanent pall of sorrow and grief over her family and friends.
The record
- Convicted of
- Second degree murder (CC 231(7))
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- Life, no parole for 20 years1
- Mandatory minimum
- Applied1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: N. Barber
Defence: G. Labine
Sources
- R. v. Bacon, 2023 BCSC 655 Court decision, CanLII, April 14, 2023
[6] THE COURT: The agreed disposition here is that I should fix Mr. Bacon's parole ineligibility at 20 years.
[6] THE COURT: The agreed disposition here is that I should fix Mr. Bacon's parole ineligibility at 20 years.
[2] … I hereby sentence you to the mandatory term of life imprisonment. … [4] THE COURT: The only question is one of parole eligibility. All prisoners in Canadian law are eligible for parole. But in a case like this involving a conviction for second-degree murder, I have the discretion to order that a period between 10 and 25 years of the life sentence must be served before the offender is eligible to apply for parole.
[1] THE COURT: Mr. Bacon, as you clearly realise, you have committed an appalling crime, a cowardly crime, a vicious crime.
[1] THE COURT: Mr. Bacon, as you clearly realise, you have committed an appalling crime, a cowardly crime, a vicious crime. You have robbed a 16-year-old child of all the remaining years of her life. You have cast a permanent pall of sorrow and grief over her family and friends.
[10] THE COURT: … At the joint recommendation of counsel, Mr. Bacon, I am going to fix the period of parole ineligibility at 20 years. So, this is a life sentence, and as a matter of law you will not be eligible to apply for parole until the expiry of 20 years of your life sentence.
- R. v. Bacon, 2023 BCSC 655 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia