The sentencing arguments in the case of Richard Henry Bain were held in Montreal Friday.
Bain was convicted Aug. 23 of second-degree murder in the election-night shooting of lighting technician Denis Blanchette in 2012.
The jury which deliberated for 11 days before reaching a verdict, also found Bain guilty of three counts of attempted murder.
READ MORE: Richard Henry Bain trial: Timeline leading to second-degree murder conviction
The Crown and the defense were set to argue over how long Bain should be incarcerated before being eligible for parole, with witnesses being called to the stand.
The second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of life imprisonment, but the parole eligibility can range between 10 and 25 years.
The Crown argued that Bain should serve the full 25-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
“We know Mr. Bain was armed to the teeth…there would have been dozens of fatalities if not for a gun jam,” Dennis Galiatsatos, the crown prosecutor said.
WATCH BELOW: Sentencing hearing underway in Montreal
Galiatsatos went even further saying it was an attack on democracy and that itself justified a minimum 25-year sentence.
Bain’s lawyer, Alan Guttman, was pushing for the minimum sentence, which is 10 years.
Guttman likened his client’s case to that of Denis Lortie.
“Well this is the only case that would come close to Mr.Bain’s,” Guttman said. “Denis Lortie, we all know, was a very sick man, he did not like the government. He went in 1984 to the national assembly with the idea to kill as many MNAs as possible. He killed three people.”
Lortie was convicted of first-degree murder but appealed the conviction. In 1987, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life with no parole for 10 years. He was granted day parole in 1995 and released in 1996.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer was not buying the argument.
Galiatsatos concurred adding the Lortie case had no precedent value.
“Legally it has no meat on its bones,” he said.
Guttman countered that his client’s character also had to be taken into account.
“ Bain “has worked his entire life…has done a lot of good.”
Bain himself took to the stand expressing his regret and extending his sincerest apologies.
Both the Crown and the defense have two weeks to make submissions on a range of sentences of precedent cases.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 18 at 2 p.m.
The attack occurred on Sept. 4, 2012, outside the Metropolis nightclub where premier-designate Pauline Marois was speaking to reporters after winning the election.
–With files from the Canadian Press
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