Did the justice system fail in the case of Xavier Gellatly, a man with a long past who already had a homicide and several violent assaults to his credit and who is accused of the murder of a convenience store owner in Montreal? This is the question some people are asking.
Before being charged with the first degree murder of Chong Woo Kim, 55, who died after being stabbed, Xavier Gellatly had already spent several years in prison.
In 2012, while living in British Columbia, he stabbed and killed Chelsea Holden, a 28-year-old mother of two, in a hotel as he intervened to separate the parties in a hallway fight. He didn’t know any of the people involved.
He was convicted of manslaughter in 2015 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Was this sentence too low? Former judge and senator Pierre Dalphond analyzed the judgment of Judge Keller of British Columbia. On the show THE facts firston ICI PREMIÈRE, Me Dalphond underlined that in fact, Xavier Gellatly had been sentenced to not bad the maximum of the range
for this type of crime if we take into account the years spent in pre-trial detention.
He could have been declared a dangerous offender or long-term offender
nevertheless added Senator Dalphond. But since he had pleaded guilty, he was young and the Crown and the accused agreed that he had the potential for rehabilitation, the judge could not not listen to that.
We cannot say that the Parole Board had much faith in Xavier Gellatly’s potential for rehabilitation when, in 2016, it considered his request for early release.
In its decision at the time, as reported by The Pressewe can read this: You are prone to violent outbursts that lead you to stab the people you fight with. You’re known for carrying knives. The police believe that if you are released, you will kill someone.
In 2013, while awaiting trial, Gellatly stabbed a fellow inmate with a razor blade.
He should have been declared a dangerous offender.
During the thirty years that she spent at the Parole Board as commissioner, Anne-Marie Asselin saw many cases go through.
Yes, I think we missed it […]. He would have had to be declared a dangerous offender, because then, even after his sentence was over, he would have continued to be monitored.
she declared on Alain Gravel’s microphone. But that, the Crown must ask for it: the judge cannot impose it himself
specified Mr. Dalphond.
It is a heinous crime and I understand that the population is outraged, but the judicial system had no power at the criminal level with this individual, even if he was known to be potentially very dangerous.
Jean-Claude Boyer, also a former commissioner of the Parole Board, explained in an interview with RDI.
Jean-Claude Boyer was a commissioner at the Parole Board of Canada for six years. (Archive photo)
Photo : Radio-Canada
The only ones who have power when a person has completed their sentence are social services and health services, which can request the intervention of a judge so that a person is evaluated or locked up. But it’s exceptional when it happens, and it takes events and complaints.
However, it does not appear that Xavier Gellatly has been the subject of complaints for several years. He was not an individual who constantly cursed, pushed or threatened people around him, so he fell through the cracks. We can say that perhaps the meshes of the net are too wide, but the risk is to end up with attacks on individual freedom and a State that is too interventionist.
added Mr. Boyer.
To address certain gaps in the law, Senator Dalphond is currently sponsoring a Liberal bill (Bill C-14) which, according to him, will change the principles of sentencing
. This aims in particular to tighten the rules for release on bail for perpetrators of violent crimes and for repeat offenders awaiting trial.
His [Xavier Gellatly]he is a violent criminal, so when he is released, he will appear before the judge and, this time, it is he who will have the burden of convincing the judge that he is not a risk for society or for the victim if he is released.
So, we reverse the burden. It is no longer the Crown who will have to prove this.
The independent senator and deputy leader of the progressive group in the Senate, Pierre Dalphond.
Photo : X / @DalphondPierre
If this legislative piece, which is currently before the Senate, had been adopted in 2022, the release of Xavier Gellatly after acts of cruelty towards animals in Quebec would have been more restrictive for him, maintains Me Dalphond.
Anne-Marie Asselin is also in favor of tightening the rules. It is about time that the burden of proof is reversed, that the criminal shows us that he will not be dangerous if he is released.
Bill C-14 also requires consecutive sentences for violent criminals who have committed multiple crimes. Currently, only the heaviest sentence is maintained.
The Conservative Party of Canada believes that the Liberals’ legislative changes do not go far enough.
