The sentence for first-degree murder in Canada is automatically life with no chance of parole for 25 years. [Want the Canada Letter in your inbox every week? From its beginning, Canada’s criminal law has always given judges the power to impose consecutive sentences. But court rulings meant that when it came to life sentences, judges could only make them concurrent. In the case of first degree, or premeditated, murder, that meant a serial killer could, in theory, be let out on parole after 25 years.

Source: New York Times February 09, 2019 02:03 UTC