Richard Bain guilty of 2nd-degree murder in 2012 Quebec election-night shooting
Parti Qubcois shooter will get a minimum of life in prison with no parole for at least 10 years
As the 34-day trial drew to an end,Diane Blanchette kept her emotions in check as the man charged with killing her brother sat mere metres away.
But when ajury after 11 days of deliberationconvicted Richard Bain of second-degree murder late Tuesday afternoon, her eyes finally yielded to tears.
As the judge thanked the jury, and thecourtroom emptied one last time,DianeBlanchette found the arms of her brother's friend and began to cry.
- TIMELINE|What happened on Sept. 4, 2012?
- Dramatic moments from Quebec's election-night murder trial
- The big questions in the Quebec election-night murder trial
- CBC'scomplete coverage: RichardBainmurder trial
- Thank you, smile away,' surviving victim Dave Courage says to accused murderer
Along with being found guilty in the death ofDenisBlanchette,Bainwas also found guilty on three counts of attempted murder: onefor the shooting of Dave Courage,one for an attempt on provincial police Sgt.StphaneChampagne and one for an attempt on agroup ofstagehands who were standing outsidethe Metropolis concert hall onSept. 4, 2012.
On that night,Baincharged at the back door of the Metropolis. Inside, thePartiQubcoiswas celebrating a provincial election victory.
Bainfired aCZ 858 semi-automatic rifleinto the group of stagehands gathered by the rear of the concert hall. He only got one shot off before the gun jammed.
But that shot a single military-grade bulletkilledBlanchetteand seriously injured Courage, a friend and colleague. AsBainfled, he pointed a handgun at Champagne, whothen tackled him to the ground.
Televisioncameras capturedBainon videomoments after the shooting, dressed in a bathrobe and ski mask, and being led away in handcuffs.
He infamously shouted, "The English are waking up!" before getting into a police cruiser.
- Backgrounder:What does not criminally responsible mean?
- Canadian criminal code: Verdict of Not Criminally Responsible
The unsuccessful NCR defense
Throughout the trial,Bain'slawyer,AlanGuttman,argued that he shouldn't be held criminally responsible for his actions, that he was sufferingfrom a psychotic delusion at the time of the shooting.Baintold the jury he had had avision of his dead mother earlier that day.
The 11 days the jury spent sequestered is among the longest deliberations in recent criminal cases in Canada.
Guttmanpredicted, at one point,that withevery additionalday the jury spent deliberating, the better his client's chances were of being found not-criminally responsible.
But the contents of the envelope they delivered shortly after 5 p.m. ET held a different verdict. One juror was in tearsas the foreman informed the court of the verdict.
Bain, 65, now faces a minimum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 10 years. That can be extended to25 yearswith no parole.
Bain 'happy' not 1st degree
Guttmansaid his client was pleased he was not convicted of first-degree murder.
"He's very happy because first-degree, at his age, it's a death sentence," he said.
Crown prosecutor DennisGaliatsatostold reporters that he was "satisfied" with the verdict.
"It was hard, but nothing like what the victims have been through," he said.
During the trial, the defence suggested thatBaincouldn't apply his understanding of right and wrong because he believed he was on a mission from God to protect Quebec'sanglophonesand kill the separatists.
However,Galiatsatoscontended thatBainplanned the shooting, driven by anger over thePartiQubcois victory and the fact that he wasn't able to vote.
Bainis scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 6.
"The sentence will reflect the fact that on September 4th, 2012,Bainattacked those people, but also democracy,"Galiatsatossaid.
The defence will be asking for the minimum sentence of 10 years in prisonbefore Bain is eligible to apply for parole.
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
