Harshest sentence in Canada since 1962 handed out to Edmonton, AB man

[Barrister]

Judge sentences Travis Baumgartner to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years


BY RYAN CORMIER, MARIAM IBRAHIM AND PAULA SIMONS, EDMONTON JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

EDMONTON - In an unprecedented decision, triple-murderer Travis Baumgartner was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years, the harshest sentence handed down in Canada since execution was abolished in 1962.

Baumgartner, 22, will be 61 years old in 2052 when he can first apply for parole.

After reading a three-hour sentencing decision, Associate Chief Justice John Rooke told the crowded courtroom he had accepted a joint sentencing submission from prosecutors and Baumgartner's defence lawyer.

After being ordered to stand to receive sentence, the hulking Baumgartner stood with his arms crossed and the same disinterested look on his face he had throughout court proceedings. He showed no sign that receiving the longest prison sentence without chance of parole in Canada's history bothered him in the least.

Immediately after, Baumgartner was escorted from court by the three provincial sheriffs that surrounded the prisoner's box. He did not glance at the courtroom gallery filled with friends and family of the three co-workers he killed and the fourth that he disabled for life in an ambush and robbery in June 2012.

Baumgartner, a trainee armed guard with G4S Cash Solutions, gunned down his four co-workers, killing Michelle Shegelski, Edgardo Rejano and Brian Ilesic, and leaving a fourth, Matthew Schuman, with serious brain injuries.

Baumgartner is the first multiple murderer sentenced under a new law which allows judges to order that sentences be served consecutively rather than concurrently. The Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murderers Act came into effect in late 2011.

"The message that Parliament sent unanimously to the court has obviously been heard loud and clear," chief Crown prosecutor Steven Bilodeau said outside court.

Rooke pulled no punches as he began his decision. "These were assassinations and executions carried out by a cold-blooded killer with no respect for human life, all for the simple motive of robbery. These are some of the most horrendous crimes anyone can imagine. It's difficult to describe the revulsion of society, this court and the public."

Rooke called Baumgartner's killings "an ambush" and "cowardly."

Baumgartner is a "pariah of human life," Rooke said, asking rhetorically: "What was he possibly thinking?"

Baumgartner raised an eyebrow at Rooke's rhetorical question, but otherwise remained unmoved. He stretched his tall frame in the prisoner's box, leaned back and mostly kept his eyes closed.

In delivering the sentence, Rooke told the courtroom that he believes the maximum sentence under the new law — 75 years without parole — should be reserved for the worst killers, such as Robert Pickton or Clifford Olson.

He said there is a need for restraint to avoid a "crushing" sentence to give Baumgartner some hope of freedom and deter him from committing further crimes in prison.

Rooke said Baumgartner's crime also harmed the community. He said that apart from his guilty pleas, Baumgartner has not accepted responsibility. He noted that a letter of remorse from Baumgartner that was mentioned in the agreed statement of facts was not a part of the court record. Baumgartner did not address the court when given the chance to do so on Monday.

In a rare move, Rooke read lengthy portions of a few of the 24 victim impact statements, which he said reveal the "heartbreak, sorrow and grief" left behind. He also said it required a "strong stomach' to read them aloud.

Rooke said the joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers listed three mitigating factors: Baumgartner's age, his lack of a previous criminal record and his guilty pleas. He also noted 10 aggravating factors, the most important of which was Baumgartner's "treacherous breach of trust," when he shot his co-workers in the head while he was supposed to be watching their backs.

"The depth of the betrayal is remarkable," Bilodeau told the court earlier this week. "It is aggravating that his victims were vulnerable even though they were armed themselves. They were completely exposed."

The judge agreed with Bilodeau that Baumgartner clearly planned the robbery and when the time came, he chose to kill. He fled the scene, tried to avoid detection and when he was caught, made up a "preposterous and long charade," claiming he had amnesia.

The severe prison sentence was possible because of a new law that allows judges to decide that a convicted multiple-murderer must serve consecutive sentences before being allowed to apply for parole. Previously, sentences were served concurrently.

As noted by Rooke and defence lawyer Peter Royal, it is unlikely Baumgartner will ever be granted parole. Bilodeau mused openly in court that Baumgartner might not survive 40 years in prison.

The details of the murders were spelled out in a 15-page agreed statement of facts read Monday after Baumgartner pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Schuman, to two counts of second-degree murder for killing Shegelski and Ilesic, and to one count of first-degree murder for killing Rejano. The first-degree murder conviction in Rejano's death was supported by evidence Baumgartner planned that killing outside the HUB Mall after shooting the other three.

According to the statement of facts, Baumgartner shot his co-workers point-blank as they worked a night shift delivering cash to bank machines.

"They had no chance," Rooke said of the victims. "We know how it happened. It happened by surprise and shock. It was an ambush."

Baumgartner, who had worked for G4S Cash Solutions for two months, had argued with his mother about rent money earlier in the day. At the time, he owed about $58,000 for his recently purchased Ford F-150 truck and had 26 cents in his bank account.

After the robbery, he left cash for two friends in Sherwood Park and dropped $64,000 on his mom's kitchen table.

After a two-day manhunt, he was arrested while trying to cross the border into Lynden, Wash. He had $333,580 in cash in a backpack when he was captured.

Days after the killings, in a confession to an undercover RCMP officer in his B.C. jail cell, Baumgartner said: "I did it all. I killed those people and robbed their truck."

As part of his sentence, Baumgartner is now banned from owning guns for the rest of his life.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Mall+shootings+Travis+Baumgartner+sentenced+years+prison/8897515/story.html


There was an enormous scrum outside the courthouse yesterday - biggest I've ever seen, after this was handed out.

Curious what Americans (and Euros) think of this sentence.  Too harsh?  Too lenient?

[The Brain]

No guns in prison? Cruel and unusual.

[lustindarkness]

As part of his sentence, Baumgartner is now banned from owning guns for the rest of his life.

Curious what Americans (and Euros) think of this sentence.  Too harsh?  Too lenient?

That last sentence is what makes it too harsh.

[Barrister]

As part of his sentence, Baumgartner is now banned from owning guns for the rest of his life.

Curious what Americans (and Euros) think of this sentence.  Too harsh?  Too lenient?

That last sentence is what makes it too harsh.

The man gunned down his 4 partners in cold blood.  I think it's safe to say he shouldn't own any guns, ever.

[lustindarkness]

Barbarians.

[Caliga]

MAH RAHTS

[KRonn]

Too lenient. Shouldn't have any parole but it suffices as he may never be let out, but depends what a future parole board will decide. The US does similar at times. I think Manson still comes up for parole, but he's always turned down. But I don't see why this sentence should be considered too harsh at all.

[Berkut]

As part of his sentence, Baumgartner is now banned from owning guns for the rest of his life.

Curious what Americans (and Euros) think of this sentence.  Too harsh?  Too lenient?

That last sentence is what makes it too harsh.

The man gunned down his 4 partners in cold blood.  I think it's safe to say he shouldn't own any guns, ever.

If the purpose of prison is rehabilitation, how can you say he is rehabilitated if he isn't even allowed to defend himself from attack from skittles wielding maniacs?

You know, for example?

[Habbaku]

Seems like a perfectly-reasonable sentence to me.

[Neil]

As part of his sentence, Baumgartner is now banned from owning guns for the rest of his life.

Curious what Americans (and Euros) think of this sentence.  Too harsh?  Too lenient?

That last sentence is what makes it too harsh.

The man gunned down his 4 partners in cold blood.  I think it's safe to say he shouldn't own any guns, ever.

I think that the gun nuts will argue that he was just executing his right to self-defence when he shot those people.

Personally, I would have seen him hanged by the neck.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm OK with the sentence,  mostly because of how old he'll be when he becomes eligible.

[Grey Fox]

Best law the Harper gov passed.

[Ideologue]

Personally, I would have seen him hanged by the neck.

Concur, but more forcefully.

It's a filthy contradiction of our society that we "value life" so much that we prefer to make it unbearably awful for 40 years instead of mercifully ending it.

[Barrister]

Personally, I would have seen him hanged by the neck.

Concur, but more forcefully.

It's a filthy contradiction of our society that we "value life" so much that we prefer to make it unbearably awful for 40 years instead of mercifully ending it.

Ariel Castro notwithstanding, most of the men on death row are pretty vocal about preferring not to be dead...

[Tonitrus]

So when is that bus-decapitator cannibal getting released?