An Ontario Superior Court judge has begun sentencing serial killer Bruce McArthur, who murdered eight men with ties to Toronto’s Gay Village in the span of seven years.McArthur “lured eight innocent men to their deaths,” Justice John McMahon told a packed downtown courtroom Friday morning, beginning a detailed account of his sentencing decision. “There has been no evidence, that I can see, of remorse,” he said, shortly before court took a brief break at 11 a.m. McArthur, 67, convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder, faces an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole until at least age 91. The only question McMahon has to settle is whether McArthur will serve concurrent sentences with a 25-year parole eligibility date or consecutive sentences, which will push his eligibility far into the future and effectively assure he die in prison.That difference may be “a distinction without a difference,” McMahon said. Even if McArthur lives to 91, he said, “it is highly unlikely he would be granted parole.”After the break, McMahon said he will review the principals of sentencing, the nature of the killings and McArthur’s character, before reading his decision. Citing the unique enormity of McArthur’s crimes — “even amongst those who commit multiple murders” — Crown prosecutor Craig Harper earlier this week asked for a parole ineligibility period of 50 years. McArthur would be 116, effectively assuring he would die in prison and sparing his victims’ families a parole hearing. McArthur’s lawyer, James Miglin, argued before Justice John McMahon that, given McArthur’s guilty pleas and his age, 25 years of parole ineligibility is appropriate.Either way, McArthur will be in prison until he is at least 91 years old, factoring in credit for time served in jail since his arrest. McMahon, who has been on the Ontario Superior Court bench for 15 years, ...
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