WATCH: The widows of three Mounties gunned down in Moncton in June saw a contrite side of their husbands’ killer, during the second day of Justin Bourque’s sentencing hearing. He said he was sorry, but that won’t change the future he’s facing. Ross Lord reports.
MONCTON, N.B. – Justin Bourque has apologized for the June 4 shootings in Moncton that killed three RCMP officers and injured two others, but says he believes saying sorry is almost useless.
Bourque addressed the court at his sentencing hearing just before it was adjourned until Friday, where a decision will be delivered.
He faces a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
READ MORE: Bourque plotted to kill Mounties after scrapping plan to burn gas stations
The Crown wants Bourque’s parole ineligibility for each murder conviction to be served consecutively, meaning it would be set at 75 years.
If granted, that would be the harshest sentence in Canada since the last executions in 1962.
READ MORE: Justin Bourque’s mom says she’s not ready to speak about his sentencing
The defence wants Bourque’s parole ineligibility to be set at 50 years.
A 2011 amendment to the Criminal Code allows judges to extend parole ineligibility in the case of multiple murders.
A police interview that Bourque gave after his arrest was entered as evidence and shows Bourque saying that the main reason he shot the Mounties was because he was attempting to start a rebellion against an oppressive, corrupt government that he believed was squelching the freedom of most Canadians.
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