New Zealand mosque shooter gets life imprisonment without parole

A New Zealand court has sentenced Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims as they prayed at two mosques in Christchurch to life imprisonment without parole. It is the first time such a sentence has been handed down in the country.

Last year, Tarrant attacked people attending Friday prayers at two mosques with semi-automatic guns, streaming the shooting live on Facebook. He has pleaded guilty to 51 murder charges, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act.

In delivering the sentence, High Court judge Cameron Mander said on Thursday that a finite term was insufficient for such a crime and that Tarrant had shown no remorse.

“Your crimes are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment and denunciation. As far as I am able to gauge, you are empty of any empathy for your victims”, the judge said in handing down the sentence.

Tarrant, who sacked his lawyers last month, had been representing himself. He did not react to the sentence. On Thursday, he said through a lawyer in court that he did not oppose the sentence.