QUEBEC \u2014 Alexandre Bissonnette was hoping for a defence of not criminally responsible when he faked having psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the defence said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Quebec City mosque shooter was also looking for a way of making his act more acceptable in the eyes of his parents, Sylvain Faucher added later as he was cross-examined by the Crown.<\/p>\n
Faucher, who met with Bissonnette at the defence’s request in 2017, said he told the accused’s lawyers he didn’t think they could successfully mount a defence of not criminally responsible for their client.<\/p>\n
He concluded it wouldn’t be possible because the man who killed six worshippers in a Quebec City mosque in January of that year understood his acts and was capable of knowing if they were good or bad.<\/p>\n
Another psychiatrist, Marie-Frederique Allard, reached the same conclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s clear he was responsible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The psychiatrists both testified Tuesday at Bissonnette’s sentencing arguments in a Quebec City courtroom.<\/p>\n
Bissonnette, 28, pleaded guilty in March to six charges of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder related to the deadly mosque shooting.<\/p>\n
Bissonnette’s first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.<\/p>\n
But he can also receive consecutive sentences, which means he could spend up to 150 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Faucher said Bissonnette claimed to have heard voices which spoke to him and prompted to act.<\/p>\n
Faucher said he didn’t believe the claims and concluded the shooter was trying to \u201csave face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allard, for her part, said Bissonnette spoke at one point of hearing voices but that he later admitted it was untrue.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was scared his parents wouldn’t want to see him,\u201d after they learned there was no reason for the shooting, she noted in her report.<\/p>\n
The report noted that Bissonnette was dependent on his parents and often called them four to five times a day. As a teenager, he once had to be taken to a medical clinic after becoming anxious when his parents went on vacation.<\/p>\n
Faucher, for his part, suggested Bissonnette struggled with anxiety and suicidal ideas.<\/p>\n
He said Bissonnette’s risk to reoffend was low to moderate, noting that zero risk did not exist.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this room, we all have a low risk,\u201d he told the courtroom.<\/p>\n
Allard said the shooter was not beyond rehabilitation and said he had already evolved to some degree.<\/p>\n
Faucher also elaborated on the shooter’s possible motives, suggesting Bissonnette may have acted based on a \u201cquest for power\u201d to help counter his feelings of weakness and inadequacy.<\/p>\n
He may also have been expressing resentment built up from years when he was bullied, the psychiatrist said.<\/p>\n
The killer’s act was not necessarily fuelled by express anti-Muslim sentiment, he said, pointing out Bissonnette \u201cdid not invest in xenophobic movements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather, his attention centred on Muslims due to the \u201ccolour of the times,\u201d Faucher explained, noting that in another era Bissonnette would likely have targeted Jews instead.<\/p>\n
The mosque also provided a convenient target since a number of people were known to gather there at certain times.<\/p>\n
Allard is expected to be cross-examined by the Crown on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The defence has said it doesn’t intend to call Bissonnette to testify.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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