B.C. court finds Criminal Code first-degree murder parole provision unconstitutional

Luciano Mariani broke into the Vancouver Island home of his former girlfriend Caroline Bernard in August 2021 and bludgeoned her with a baseball bat while she slept, leaving the “ghastly scene” for the woman’s young daughter to find, a B.C. court heard.He had planned the murder over months, evidently intent on revenge for Bernard having an abortion after becoming pregnant early on in their relationship, which began in 2020.Mariani pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in July 2023, but his sentencing was delayed as he filed a constitutional challenge to Canada’s Criminal Code provision that stops those convicted of the crime from applying for parole for 25 years.