The offending
[145]In order to assess the length of the minimum period of imprisonment required to meet the applicable purposes of sentencing and to determine whether any minimum period would be sufficient to satisfy one or more of those purposes, the aggravating features of your crimes must be assessed. There are no mitigating features. In making that assessment, the Court is entitled to take into account all the circumstances of your conduct and the totality of your offending, including the fact that, in addition to killing so many people, you attempted to murder very many others and left scores wounded and maimed.
[146]There can be no question that the statutory criteria mandating the imposition of a minimum period of imprisonment of at least 17 years has been met.[1] Each murder was the product of calculated and lengthy planning and was committed with a high level of cruelty and callousness.[2] Some of your victims were children, others were murdered by you as they lay wounded and incapacitated.[3] If a minimum period of imprisonment was to be imposed, that bare summary of aggravating features would indicate a starting point considerably higher than 17 years. A single murder committed in such circumstances would warrant such a minimum term. Your act of terrorism resulted in the murder of 51 people and the serious wounding of 40 more.[4] That is perhaps the most salient feature of your offending, but there are other particular aspects of your crime that require further articulation.
Premeditation
[147]As I have previously observed, you undertook long and extensive planning. In addition to acquiring high-powered firearms, you purchased in excess of 7,000 rounds of ammunition and bought equipment solely for the purpose of carrying out your attacks. You modified the military style semi-automatic rifles in order to improve their rate of fire, and practiced their use. You obtained information about mosques located
