McArthur’s attorney, James Miglin, agreed that his crimes warranted the most serious consequences, but argued that the lack of even a “faint hope” of parole for half a century was unnecessarily harsh, given McArthur’s age and prior guilty plea.
“The certainty that Mr McArthur will never leave prison is a fit result,” said Harper. The crown also successfully requested that McArthur’s previous conviction for assault in 2003 be included in sentencing consideration.
In submissions to the judge, assistant crown attorney Craig Harper said the term “serial killer” was “woefully inadequate to describe his moral blameworthiness … and heinousness of the offences”. McArthur, a well-known figure in Toronto’s gay bars, strangled and dismembered his victims.ĭuring a sentencing hearing last week, the court heard that he also staged photos of some of his victims after they died, posing their corpses in a fur coat and hat and placing cigars in their mouths. “This court cannot give them what they want most: to have their loved one back,” he said. The judge acknowledged the devastating loss suffered by families and friends. “All of the victims were vulnerable individuals … the accused exploited their vulnerabilities, whether immigration concerns, mental health challenges, or leading secret double lives,” said McMahon. McArthur targeted men living on the margins of Canadian society, and their disappearances initially attracted little attention. McArthur, 67, pleaded guilty last week to the first-degree murders of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam. “Although Mr McArthur has taken responsibility of his actions, there has been no evidence of remorse,” he said. McMahon recognized McArthur’s guilty plea, but said it was highly unlikely he would ever be released on parole. Passing sentence on Friday, Judge John McMahon described McArthur’s behaviour as “pure evil” and said he would have kept killing if he had not been apprehended by the police.
0 kommentar(er)
