The parents of Alexandre Bissonnette, the man who shot and killed six people at a mosque in Quebec City, have condemned the sentence he received as extremely severe.
Alexandre Bissonnette killed six people at the Center Culturel Islamique de Quebec in Quebec City on January 27, 2017, may have to wait 50 years before applying for amnesty.
Bissonnette was 27 at the time of the murder, pleaded guilty to 12 counts, including six counts of premeditated murder. The penalty for manslaughter is automatic life imprisonment and no parole release for 25 years.
In January 2017, he stormed the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center and shot those who had gathered to pray. The attack shook the nation, raising questions about Islamophobia in Quebec and other parts of the country.
Meet Alexandre Bissonnette Parents: Dad Raymond Bissonnette And Mom Manon Marchand
Manon Marchand and Raymond Bissonnette released an open letter, questioning the seriousness of the 40-year sentence handed down to their son Alexandre Bissonnette and accusing Crown of inciting a desire for revenge.
Bissonnette’s parents point out that this sentence is the most severe sentence received in Quebec since the abolition of the death penalty in 1976.
Alexandre’s parents said when speaking in public for the first time that they did not realize until it was too late how the intimidation and abuse had affected their son’s mental health.
They say that the only way to prevent a further catastrophe like that of their son is to not shut the door permanently, but try to understand better and prevent abuse.
Alexandre Bissonnette Family Background Explored
Alexandre Bissonnette has a twin brother with whom he lived in an apartment about six miles from their parents’ home. But he often slept in his parents’ house on the weekends.
Bissonnette and his father, Raymond Bissonnette, sometimes went to the shooting area together. Police analysis of his computer found that he and his father were exchanging emails about younger Bissonnette’s small medicine and Muslim-related matters.
Bissonnette was a political science student at the Université Laval in Quebec City. His father told police he was about to graduate, though the shooter told police he had dropped out of school.
Alexandre Bissonnette Charges
Alexandre Bissonnette was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment last year for killing six people and seriously injuring five others.
Bissonnette is now 31 years old. Quebec Islamic Cultural Center Imam Hassan Guillet expressed sympathy for Alexandre Bissonnette’s parents after the sentencing as he has been sentenced to at least 40 years in prison.
Survivors of the Muslim shooting in Quebec City and the families of the slain men have expressed their disappointment that the children of the victims will have to visit the case again in 40 years when Bissonnette is able to apply for parole.