JUDICIAL REVIEW OF PAROLE INELIGIBILITY PERIOD

FACT SHEET

The Criminal Code provides for automatic life sentences for murder. These life sentences fall into two categories:

· First Degree Murder - the convicted offender is not eligible to apply for parole for 25 years.

· Second Degree Murder - the convicted offender is not eligible to apply for parole for 10&nbspyears. However, the sentencing judge, after considering any recommendation from the jury, may set a time from 10 to 25 years when the offender will become eligible to apply for parole.

· In both categories, where the convicted offender is not eligible for parole for more than 15&nbspyears, section 745.6 of the Criminal Code allows offenders to have their parole ineligibility period reviewed by a superior court judge and a jury.

· An offender may apply for a Judicial Review only after 15 years have been served.

· On January 9, 1997, new amendments to section 745.6 came into force, considerably toughening the requirements for offenders to have their parole ineligibility period reduced, to ensure that only exceptional cases benefit from a judicial review.

· First, section 745.6 now prohibits any person who commits multiple murders after January 9, 1997, from ever applying for a judicial review of their parole ineligibility period. This means that, for the future, multiple murderers must serve their entire parole ineligibility period before they will be allowed to apply for parole.

· Second, a screening process for those still eligible to apply is now in place. The applicant must convince a superior court judge that his or her application has a reasonable prospect of success before it can proceed to a hearing before a jury. This is done by having the Crown and the applicant submit written materials.

· Third, for those cases that pass the screening, the jury hearing must result in a unanimous decision by the 12 members of the jury, in order to reduce the parole ineligibility period. In the past, only 8 of the 12 jurors needed to be in favor.

· In those cases where there is a unanimous decision by a jury that the parole ineligibility period be reduced, the applicant can then apply to the National Parole Board once he or she has served the remaining portion of the parole ineligibility period, as reduced by the jury.

· Parole is not granted automatically. The National Parole Board, in reviewing the application, assesses the offender's risk of reoffending and any danger posed to society by the offender's release.

· If parole is granted, the person is reintegrated into society under the terms and conditions of their release. The person remains under sentence for his or her entire life, and any breach of a parole condition may result in the return of the person to prison.