Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 51 Muslim massacres at two mosques in New Zealand was sentenced to life in prison.
This sentence was imposed without the possibility of parole.
As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Thursday (August 27, 2020), the judge handed down the maximum sentence to the white supremacist man from Australia.
It is the first time that life imprisonment has been imposed in New Zealand.
Judge Cameron Mander said Tarrant’s crimes were so heinous that life in prison could not atone for him.
He said that Tarrant had caused enormous wounds and came from a perverted and vicious ideology.
“Your actions are inhuman,” said Mander. “You deliberately killed a 3-year-old baby when he clung to his father’s leg,” the judge added.
Attacks in March 2019 that targeted people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques.
The attack had seriously stirred New Zealand.
These brutal events also prompted new laws to prohibit the circulation of the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.
The incident also led to global changes to social media protocols.
During the four-day sentencing trial, 90 survivors and family members recounted the horror of the attacks and the trauma they continued to experience.
Some people chose to yell at the gunman and point their middle finger.
Others call him a monster, coward, mouse.
Some chanted verses from the Koran or greeted them in Arabic.
Several spoke softly to Tarrant, saying they forgave him.
Tarrant had previously fired his lawyer and told the judge he did not want to speak at the trial.