A Quesnel man, convicted of First Degree Murder in the death of his father back in 2003, wants to apply for early parole under what’s called the faint hope clause.
A hearing got underway in Supreme Court in Quesnel this week for Doug Terrico, who was convicted in the death of William Henry Terrico, who was found deceased at his business property, Dragon Lake Auto Wrecking, on December 27th, 1989.
He died as a result of a combination of gunshot wounds and blows to the head with the butt end of a rifle.
A young offender had earlier pleaded guilty to the killing, but he fingered Terrico as the mastermind behind the murder.
Terrico, 35 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Now in his early 50’s, Terrico is asking a 12-member jury for the right to apply for early parole under the faint hope clause.
It allows prisoners to apply parole after serving at least 15 years.
The clause, section 746.5 of the Canadian Criminal Code, was added in 1976 after Canada abolished the death penalty and replaced it with a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
It only applies to those who were convicted prior to December of 2011 however, as the clause was eliminated in November of that year.
If successful in Quesnel, and the decision must be unanimous, Terrico still must apply to the Parole Board of Canada, which is the body that will make the final decision.
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