Second degree murder
R. v. H.A.M.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
Sentence and the Crown's position
Both are life sentences, so the bars compare how long before parole can be considered.
What the law allows
The offender was sentenced for the second degree murder of a bystander, shot in the back of the head in February 2019 while the offender was acting as an enforcer in a drug-trade dispute; the Court of Appeal had substituted second degree murder for the jury's first degree murder verdict. The Crown and the defence jointly submitted life imprisonment with parole ineligibility of 17 years. Associate Chief Justice Holmes accepted the joint submission and imposed life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 17 years, finding it consistent with the case authorities.
In the judge's words
1In my view, the sentence proposed in the joint submission properly reflects the circumstances and the governing law, and is consistent with the case authorities. It does not offend the public interest test outlined in R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43.
The record
- Convicted of
- Second degree murder (CC 231(7))
- Prior convictions
- 60 prior convictions, 11 violent1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- Life, no parole for 17 years1
- Mandatory minimum
- Applied1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: S. Firestone
Defence: J. Watt
Sources
- R. v. H.A.M., 2024 BCSC 2292 Court decision, CanLII, November 22, 2024
[4] The Crown and the defence join in submitting that in this case the period of ineligibility to apply for parole should be 17 years.
[4] The Crown and the defence join in submitting that in this case the period of ineligibility to apply for parole should be 17 years.
[3] For second degree murder, the sentence must be imprisonment for life.
[17] The aggravating circumstances include the criminal record which starts in 1985 and has sixty convictions. Eleven of those convictions involve violence and ten convictions involve the use of weapons.
[20] In my view, the sentence proposed in the joint submission properly reflects the circumstances and the governing law, and is consistent with the case authorities. It does not offend the public interest test outlined in R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43.
[24] … you are sentenced to imprisonment for life. … [25] You will not be eligible to apply for parole for a period of 17 years.
- R. v. H.A.M., 2024 BCSC 2292 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia