In Canada, top court ends life sentences without parole for mass murderers

Even as the US confronts with reality in Texas elementary school shooting, the Supreme Court of Canada has said on Friday that the life sentences without the possibility of parole handed out to mass murderers are unconstitutional, media reports said. These life sentences also violate the right, which it said was not to be subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment," it said. The ruling has ended a criminal code provision, which was enacted in 2011, to allow governments to hand out such sentences.

Such a sentence is degrading in nature and thus, incompatible with human dignity as it eliminates any possibility of reintegration into society," the Canadian court ruled. The decision may lead to a series of judicial reviews.

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The ruling came during the review of the case of Alexandre Bissonnette. He was charged for the murder of six worshippers in a mosque in Quebec City in 2017. After spending 25 years in jail, Bissonnette has a chance at parole, the ruling added.

"Under this unconstitutional provision, offenders have been sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole for 50 or even 75 years," said the ruling, which was written by Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

(With inputs from agencies)