Two people convicted of first-degree murder of a gang member must serve at least 25 years before being eligible for parole.
Published at 7:30 p.m.
Convicted of the murder of Frantz Louis committed in Montreal in November 2020, Emanuell Hunte Roberts and Andrew Thomas Labrèche challenged before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of this 25-year eligibility period on the grounds that it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in particular against the law against cruel and unusual acts.
Her lawyers argued that the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder (life in prison without the possibility of parole until 25 years) was disproportionate in length and incompatible with human dignity.
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Andrew Thomas Labrèche.
Photo submitted as evidence in court
Emanuel Hunte Roberts.
They argued that their clients would remain incarcerated long after they were rehabilitated and that such a long sentence would result in “unacceptable torment.”
The lawyer for Labrèche, who was the driver while Hunte-Roberts was the shooter, argued that his client was the accomplice and that the minimum sentence of 25 years did not take into account his lesser involvement.
Judge Alexandre Boucher of the Supreme Court did not examine the constitutionality and in his ruling agreed with previous decisions that recognized the legality of the minimum term of 25 years for premeditated murder.
He concluded that this sentence was appropriate and proportionate in this case.
“First degree murder is the worst crime of all. (…..) Here the circumstances of the crime are particularly serious. According to the evidence, the defendants jointly committed a contract killing related to organized crime. The attack was well organized, violent and coldly executed. The fact that he was an accomplice does not constitute a significant mitigating circumstance for Mr Labrèche in the circumstances of the present case. Furthermore, the murder was committed with a weapon in a public place, which made it even more dangerous. The citizens of Montreal deserve to live in a safe and peaceful environment,” writes Judge Boucher.
Conscience, the worst prison
During the trial, the victim, Frantz Louis, was described by Detective Sergeant Francis Derome of the SPVM as a person “known to the police for several years and part of the daily news on organized crime” in Montreal.
PHOTO SPVM
The victim, Frantz Louis
Members of Louis' family wrote detailed letters expressing particularly strong feelings in preparation for the sentencing.
“Emmanuel and Andrew (the convict), we address you by your first name because, in our opinion, you are too young to be called “Mr,” much less a murderer. This process made us relive Frantz's death every day and made us even more aware that you stole his life. But the fact is that we look at your photos with pain. The pain for your loved ones, the pain for your mother Andrew and the pain that at 25 you are still too young to have blood on your hands. The greatest prison is that of conscience. You have to live with your conscience. To clear your conscience, you will say that he was a criminal, but unfortunately your conscience will remind you that no one has the right of life or death over anyone,” the family members write in particular in one of the letters submitted to court.
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