As hundreds gathered outside courthouses across Quebec on Saturday to protest against a jury's decision that found Guy Turcotte not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of his two children, his estranged wife said she was encouraged by the support.
Turcotte, a former cardiologist, admitted to stabbing five-year-old Olivier and three-year-old Anne-Sophie 46 times while they lay in their beds in 2009.
Turcotte admits to having caused the deaths but denied criminal intent, saying that he never actually planned to kill the children and can't recall committing the act.
The murdered children's mother, Isabelle Gaston, told reporters outside a Montreal courthouse on Saturday that she feels less alone surrounded by the protestors.
"When you're a victim you feel that the system doesn't listen to you, so today the presence of (all these people) gives me a lot of energy," she said.
Protestors outside a Montreal courthouse told The Canadian Press that they're upset with the verdict and the justice system.
By noon on Saturday, the courthouse steps in Montreal were covered by dozens of stuffed animals, candles and photos of the two children.
Many at the demonstrations wore T-shirts featuring a photo of the murdered children along with the words, "Justice" and "Don't close your eyes, let's change things."
Others had placards with slogans such as, "Mental problems aren't a license to kill" and "Injustice in Quebec."
Montrealer Chantal Rondeau brought her 10-year-old son to the protest to show support for Gaston.
"I am a mother and when the verdict came down, I was shocked," she told The Canadian Press.
Gaston said she wants stricter guidelines for when a not-criminally-responsible verdict can be rendered.
"The time has come that we should rethink the way it's evaluated," she told reporters.
She said it should be up to a team of independent psychiatrists and a judge, rather than a jury, to evaluate the mental state of a person on trial.
"The (question of) criminal responsibility is something too big, too important, too complicated to be in the hands of people that don't have the knowledge of psychiatry," she said.
Turcotte's verdict was handed down by a jury on July 5. The ruling found mental issues caused him to commit the stabbings.
The jury was made up of seven women and four men and they had several possible verdicts to choose from, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible for reason of mental illness. Acquittal was not an option.
Experts testifying on Turcotte's behalf at the trial said he was not aware of his actions the night he killed his children, just weeks after his marriage ended.
Turcotte is scheduled to appear before a mental health tribunal on Aug. 12, which will determine whether he is fit to be released or if he should stay detained for another year.
The Crown announced it's appealing the verdict, saying it believes the judge erred in law in his instructions to the jury. The Crown also asked the Quebec Court of Appeal to hear the case.
There were 14 protests planned across the province in cities such as Montreal, Quebec City, St-Jerome, Granby and Longueuil.
With files from The Canadian Press
