Supreme Court to state Thursday if it will hear Dennis Oland's bail appeal
Oland seeks to be freed pending appeal of his conviction for 2nd-degree murder
The Supreme Court of Canada will announce Thursday if it will hear Dennis Oland's appeal of a decision that refused to free Oland on bail while waiting for the appeal of his second-degree murder conviction to be heard.
Oland was convicted last December of murdering his father, multimillionaire Saint John businessman Richard Oland in 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years and has been in custody since Dec. 19.
Oland is appealing his conviction. It is scheduled to be heard by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, beginning Oct. 18, provided a transcript of the three-month trial can be prepared on time.
Oland also made a motion to be released on bail pending the hearing and decision of the appeal. The motion was dismissed by Court of Appeal Justice J.C. Marc Richard, who stated "the confidence of the public in the administration of justice would be undermined" if a convicted murderer were to be released pending appeal.
Richard's ruling was upheld by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau said he was "duty bound" to uphold the decision.
Drapeau did note that Oland's grounds of appeal of his murder conviction "appear to be serious."
The Criminal Code of Canada allows bail to be granted pending appeal if the appeal is not frivolous, the convict's detention is not necessary in the public interest, and the convict agrees to surrender into custody at the appropriate time.