Latest news with #firstdegree
CTV News
11 hours ago
- CTV News
Ronald Cyr, still serving time for his wife's murder, seeks early parole release
Nadia Gehl and Ronald Cyr are seen in this undated image submitted at evidence in the murder trial. A Kitchener, Ont. man, found guilty of first-degree murder in his wife's 2009 shooting death, has cleared one hurdle in his bid to get early parole. Ronald Cyr was one of three men convicted of Nadia Gehl's murder. A justice at the Superior Court of Ontario now says a jury should be empaneled to consider his 'faint hope' application. On Feb. 2, 2009, Gehl was shot while walking to a bus stop in the Ottawa Street and Fischer-Hallman Road area. The 28-year-old had been on her way to work. Gehl shot The scene where Nadia Gehl was shot to death is seen in Kitchener, Ont. in Feb. 2009. Her husband, Ronald Cyr, was arrested about six months later and charged in her death. Hours later, two of Cyr's friends, Zdenek 'Dennis' Zvolensky and Nashat Qahwash, were also arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The three were tried together in a Hamilton court. According to the Crown, Cyr enlisted Zvolensky to kill his wife and Zvolensky got Qahwash to help him. Appeal hearing begins for Nadia Gehl's killers Court also heard Cyr was having an affair with his co-worker at the time of Gehl's death. All three of the accused testified in their own defense at their trial and blamed the others for Gehl's death. The jury found all three guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced them to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years. In a 2017 decision, the court of appeal upheld those convictions and described Gehl's murder as 'an execution-style killing.' Nadia Gehl, 28, is seen in this undated family handout photo. Nadia Gehl, 28, is seen in this undated family handout photo. 'Faint hope' Cyr has now asked for a reduction in his parole eligibility, citing the 'faint hope' clause. The statutory provision gave offenders, who were serving more than 15 years behind bars, the opportunity to seek early parole. Even though it was repealed in 2011, the option was still open to Cyr since Gehl was killed before that date. Justice Robert Reid said a jury should be empaneled to consider Cyr's application as there was a 'reasonable prospect' it could succeed. A jury, ultimately, would have to unanimously decide to shorten his period of parole eligibility. The judge's written decision stated: 'Those closest to him consider that he has worked hard during the period of incarceration to change his life in order to become a better person. He has shown remorse and is described as kind and thoughtful.' It also noted Cyr had converted to Judaism and had the support of his father and uncle, as well as other family members. The Crown has opposed Cyr's application, noting the facts of the offense and how deeply it affected the community. Cyr, now 46, is currently incarcerated at Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst, Ont. He has been behind bars since August 2009 and is not currently eligible to apply for parole until August 2034. More to come.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Missouri judge rejects inmate claims that sentencing decision was illegal
Deandra Buchanan, an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center serving a first degree murder sentence for killing his girlfriend and two others in 2000 (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent). A Missouri man serving life without parole on Monday lost a bid to reopen his criminal case for an in-person resentencing he claims he was unconstitutionally denied. Deandra Buchanan, convicted in Boone County of three counts of first-degree in 2002, was originally sentenced to death. The Missouri Supreme Court reduced the sentence to life without parole in 2003. The statute allowing the court to directly resentence people sentenced to death violates another law, and federal court precedent, requiring defendants to be present when their sentence is pronounced, Buchanan argued through public defender Tyler Coyle. When the Supreme Court found the death sentence to be unconstitutional in Buchanan's case, the trial court should have brought him in for in-person resentencing. But Boone County Circuit Judge Jeff Harris disagreed, deciding that the high court was within its authority when it changed Buchanan's sentence. Harris didn't address the constitutional questions raised by Buchanan. 'Because the Supreme Court exercised its authority to resentence defendant, there was no need and basis for the circuit court to take any further action or hold a resentencing hearing,' Harris wrote. The ruling isn't a setback, Coyle said, because he and Buchanan had expected a definitive ruling would come from an appeals court. 'The state argued at our in-person hearing that if we have a problem with what the Supreme Court did, we should be asking the Supreme Court,' Coyle said. 'That's what the prosecutor argued to Judge Harris. It kind of sounds like by not addressing that part of it, that's what is left for us to do now.' In his final brief in the case, Coyle wrote that the question is analogous to the issue decided by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2022 when defendants challenged the outcome of hearings held online with witnesses or defendants not physically present. The hearing formats were intended to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. In those cases, the court ruled unanimously that there are no 'sick days' for constitutional rights. 'There's a fundamental right to be present for all critical stages,' Coyle said. 'The U.S. Supreme Court has said this, and the U.S. Supreme Court has also said that sentencing is a critical stage.' Assistant Boone County prosecutor Yao Li, who argued that Buchanan should be pursuing his claims at the Missouri Supreme Court, also argued that the time for the challenge had long passed. 'The law of the case and lapse of jurisdiction prohibits him from raising the claim here,' Li wrote in his final brief to Harris. Along with arguing that the 2003 resentencing was legal under state statute and rule, Buchanan contends he was never legally sentenced and that has prevented him from seeking post-conviction relief. Buchanan doesn't deny his guilt. He spoke at length about his case in an episode of the Netflix series 'I am a Killer.' 'We can never change the fact that my family members lost their lives, my girl, my friend, was shot,' Buchanan said in an April interview at Jefferson City Correctional Center. 'You can't put time on that.' But he claims he has no memory of the crime. He said he believes marijuana he smoked that night was laced with PCP and tests of sweat residue in the shirt he wore shows that. He cannot pursue those arguments without a final sentence, Buchanan said Wednesday in a telephone interview. That is why he needs an in-person sentencing. 'Any court in Missouri is obligated to honor my federal rights, because I'm dealing with a constitutional right,' Buchanan said. 'I have a constitutional right to be present.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
