“The satisfaction today is to see that the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the justice system works, that the trial was fair and that the verdict is reasonable,” commented the criminal prosecutor. and criminal matters, Me Julien Beauchamp-Laliberté.
Recall that in 2021, Jean-Guy Savard was sentenced to six years of imprisonment less preventive detention following a jury trial. The court had also declared the accused a long-term offender, in addition to subjecting him to a period of supervision of eight years.
Jean-Guy Savard, who is defending himself alone, challenged before the Court of Appeal the verdict pronounced on February 5, 2021 and the judgment rendered on September 20, 2021 for different reasons. He put forward no less than ten grounds of appeal which were all rejected in the forty-page judgment rendered by the court. The jury’s verdicts and the sentence previously handed down were all upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The accused argued, among other things, that he had not had the right to a fair trial and that the verdicts rendered were unreasonable. Jean-Guy Savard also considered that Judge Thibault had erred in rejecting the motion to exclude the evidence. and refusing to grant the motion to sever the charges.
The accused also argued that Judge Lavoie had erred in granting the motion for referral for evaluation, by refusing him a postponement to present a second opinion for the purposes of the request that he be declared a long-term offender, in not respecting the criterion of harmonization of sentences and by declaring him a long-term offender for a period of eight years.
None of these grounds of appeal were upheld.
Remember that on September 1, 2019, the La Tuque firefighters were called to go to Mr. Savard’s address due to a violent fire that was raging. Three explosions were heard during the event due to propane that was inside the suspect’s apartment. The building was a total loss and the damage was estimated at nearly $250,000.
Do you have legal news or sensitive information to share with us? You can write to us at [email protected]
Canada
