Jury rules Kimmirut, Nunavut, man can seek early parole after using repealed clause
Pingoatuk Kolola sentenced in 2010 for murder of RCMP officer
A Kimmirut man serving a life sentence for the murder of a Nunavut RCMP officer can apply for early parole, a jury ruled on Wednesday.
Pingoatuk Kolola was sentenced in 2010 without the chance of parole for 25 years. So far, he has served 15 years for the murder of Const. Douglas Scott.
A two-and-a-half-day hearing was held in Kimmirut before a jury this week.
Kolola, who is in his 50s, was able to make his case to seek early parole by using the "faint hope clause" in the Criminal Code.
The clause was repealed by the former Harper government in 2011 and is not available to people serving sentences for crimes committed after Dec. 2, 2011.
The jury returned after roughly an hour of deliberations over whether Kolola should be eligible at all and how long he has to wait before he becomes eligible.
They ruled he should be eligible immediately.
The Crown told CBC News that they do not provide opinions on legal decisions.
Kolola's lawyer, Lauren Shadley, did not respond to interview requests.
Scott, the officer who was was killed, was from the Brockville, Ont. area and was stationed in Kimmirut when he responded to a late-night impaired driving call involving Kolola on Nov. 5, 2007.
The officer was shot in the head and died.
Kolola stayed in five institutions across Canada before arriving at the minimum security-only section of the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Que., where he is currently serving his sentence. He attended the hearing in Kimmirut in-person.
Kolola is a 'hard-working man': parole officer
Two days of testimony began on Monday with Kolola's sister and an elder saying why they believed Kolola should be allowed to seek early parole.
A parole officer Kolola has worked with over the last few years said he has made a lot of progress in his rehabilitation.
Jérémy-Paul Pelletier called Kolola a "hard-working man" and said he feels "authentic" and "great" remorse towards Scott, Scott's family, the RCMP and his own family. Pelletier said Kolola understands all the bad things he has done so that he will not harm anyone else.
Pelletier also said Kolola has participated in an Inuit-specific rehabilitation program. The parole officer said elders working with the program have only said good things about Kolola.
WATCH | Immediate reaction to Kolola's guilty verdict in 2010:
Kolola also testified, speaking about his life before he went to prison, including his childhood. He said he was sexually abused by Edward Horne for a year when he was 10 and 11 years old.
He said Horne asked him not to tell anyone about it.
The first time Kolola told anyone about what happened was in 2018, 38 years after it first happened.
Kolola said that he started using drugs and alcohol when he was 15 and kept consuming as he got older. He said that abuse led to the 2007 incident involving Scott.
Testifying about his life in the prison system, Kolola said he was able to get his high school equivalency with A-level grades and that he worked jobs. Now, instead of using drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms, he said he would do things such as work out, take a walk or listen to music.
A letter entered into evidence was submitted by another Kimmirut elder, who wrote about how kind Kolola was and says alcohol is why people get involved with the law.
Victim impact statements from Scott's brother and parents were also entered into evidence.
The statements discussed the pain the family have dealt with since Scott's death and how they cope.
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