Thursday, July 7, 2011

No jail for dad who stabbed his two kids to death during visitation (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

It's beyond sickening that after all he has done, after what he has ADMITTED DOING, dad GUY TURCOTTE will walk.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1251975.html

No jail for dad who killed his kids

 
By SIDHARTHA BANERJEE The Canadian Press
Wed, Jul 6 - 4:54 AM

MONTREAL — A grieving mother had one request for outraged Quebecers after a jury let her ex-husband, who repeatedly stabbed their children to death, off without jail time: vengeance is not the answer.

Pending a psychiatric evaluation, Guy Turcotte might now walk free within weeks despite having admitted to killing the two youngsters.

The level of outrage over the decision was clear as social-networking sites exploded with the news as Quebecers expressed their disgust.

It was the children’s mother, Isabelle Gaston, who appealed for calm. Despite expressing her own shock at the verdict, she urged the public against resorting to vigiliantism.

"Wish us peace," Gaston, a physician, told reporters at the courthouse in St-Jerome, just outside Montreal.

"No violence against whomever — even the father, or myself . . . would restore justice."

Turcotte had been charged with first-degree murder after police found his son Olivier, 5, and daughter Anne-Sophie, 3, dead in their beds.

They had been stabbed 46 times.

While the 39-year-old ex-cardiologist admitted to having caused their deaths in 2009, he denied criminal intent.

The defence focused on Turcotte’s state of mind at the time of the killings and dragged out its closing argument over an exhaustive four days, compared to the prosecution’s several hours.

Turcotte testified that he only remembered flashes of the evening; experts testifying on his behalf said he was not aware of his actions, just weeks after his marriage had ended.

His lawyers argued that he loved his children but was unable to cope with the breakup of his marriage and he was feeling increasingly marginalized by Gaston’s new beau.

Turcotte said he planned to end his own life on the night of Feb. 20, 2009, after reading emails between Gaston and her new lover, her personal trainer Martin Huot.

He started drinking windshield washer fluid to that end, but decided at some point that he didn’t want his children to wake up the following morning and find their father dead.

So, according to his testimony, Turcotte decided that he’d take the children with him.

Only he didn’t die. Police found Turcotte the next day cowering under a bed.

Gaston sought to share a lesson with the public at large, to honour the memory of Olivier and Anne-Sophie.

"We have to understand that adults don’t have a right to life and death of a child, they don’t have a right to violence, even if there’s conflict and torture in their own lives," Gaston said.

Justice Marc David had told the jury of seven women and four men they had several possible verdicts from which to choose: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible for reason of mental illness.

Acquittal was not an option.

The jury heard from nearly 40 witnesses and expert testimony from mental-health professionals.

Turcotte will briefly head back to jail before being moved to a psychiatric hospital where he will undergo an evaluation by Quebec’s review board for mental disorder to determine whether he should be released.

Veteran lawyer Robert La Haye said the public’s emotional response is not surprising, but it’s important to remember that juries are not populist forums.

He said they render justice based on evidence.

"They weighed the evidence, dissected it and decided at the end of the day, and concluded reasonably and without emotion," La Haye said.

Prosecutor Claudia Carbonneau said the Crown would take its time before deciding whether to appeal.