Victor Lazore Charges and Sentence Reduced

By Kaniehtonkie.

In August 2019, Victor Lazore was found guilty of premeditated murder by a jury trial. This outcome would have garnered Lazore with a life sentence. On October 17, the charges against Lazore were reduced to second degree murder due to his mental health. In addition to lessening the charge to second degree murder, Lazore, a First Nations person meant a Gladue report was issued, and the report further reduced his sentence.

The Gladue report is named after a 1999 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, R. v. Gladue. Some of the key principles highlight the over-representation of Aboriginals in the prison system and concluded that the sentencing process for Aboriginals needed to be approached from a different perspective.

According to Quebec’s Services Parajudiciaires Autochtones du Québec laws, “The objective of a Gladue report is to review the historical, systemic and individual factors that may have led to the accused’s presence before the court and to propose, where applicable, a range of options adapted to the accused’s needs. The Gladue report does not make a causal link between the crime and the factors it describes. This process is not intended to reduce prison sentences. Its goal is to determine a fair, appropriate sentence while paying particular attention to the circumstances of an Aboriginal offender and the actual options available that may increase the likelihood of dealing with the underlying causes for the crime in a comprehensive and fair way and, if possible, prevent re-offending.”

With the reduction of charge, and the Gladue report, a family member said, “Since Lazore has been in Canada since his extradition three years ago, Lazore could possibly apply for and be eligible for parole in seven years.”

A family member stated on Facebook, “Around 4pm today Victor was convicted with a life sentence for the murder of my father Jeffrey Lazore-Arquette. Unfortunately, the jury ignored the clear outline of premeditation and instances of him operating with a sound mind with the coverup he attempted. The jury dropped the charges down to second degree murder due to his mental health and Gladue report got him a lower parole. He will be eligible for parole within ten years of being extradited to Canada. I believe he has been in Canada for 3 years, so in 7 years he can start applying to get out. I do not believe this is justice, mandatory minimums in cases like this should be set higher (at least 15years). For now, it’s a win, so now I must accept the end result and start my healing journey.”

The family member, who preferred to remain anonymous went on to say, “A massive thanks to the Mitchell Brothers (detectives) and everyone else from Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, the Sûreté du Québec that worked on this, and the EMT’S that took my father to try and save his life. The work that you do sometimes goes unnoticed and is mostly criticized by the public, but I am grateful, and I always will show you the respect and gratitude that you deserve.”

The family member also thanked his close family members ‘who stood by him,’ during this horrible and traumatic ordeal.

The family member stated, “This is a failure of the criminal justice system.”