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Bissonnette will listen to the sentence from within the glass-encased prisoner’s dock where he sat for the four-week sentencing hearing last spring. — Andy Riga, Montreal (@andyriga) February 8, 2019

Aside from the six killed, five other men were injured by Bissonnette’s gunfire, including Aymen Derbali, left paralyzed from the waist down. Another 35 people, including four children, were in the mosque.

Crown prosecutors are asking that Huot hand down the longest sentence in Canadian history and the harshest in modern Canadian judicial history.

They say the 29-year-old’s crime was so vile, so clearly spurred by bigotry, he deserves six consecutive life sentences, one for each of the six men he murdered: Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti.

Photo by Ali Ouldache, Moussa Sangare, Ho / Université Laval, FACEBOOK, THE CANADIAN PRESS

That would mean he would not be eligible for parole for 150 years, eliminating any chance he would leave prison alive.

Lawyers for Bissonnette, who pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, say he should get one life sentence, meaning he could request parole after 25 years. They say a 150-year sentence would be unconstitutional because it would be inhumane and remove any glimmer of hope for their client.

Through questions and comments during hearings last year, Huot gave hints about the issues he is weighing in the sentence, which could set a precedent for mass murderers and end up before the Supreme Court of Canada.

The sentence was originally expected in October but Huot delayed it in order to get more input from the Crown and defence lawyer and to have more time to ponder his decision.