Australian Brenton Tarrant, 29, pleaded guilty to the murder of 51 people, attempted murder of another 40 victims and one charge of terrorism. The judge called his actions “inhuman” and ruled that he “showed no mercy”. The attack last March, which streamed live, shocked the world.
Tarrant’s conviction is also the first conviction of terrorism in the history of New Zealand.
Judge Cameron Mander told the Christchurch court: “Your crimes are so wrong that even if you are detained until you die, it does not exhaust the requirements of punishment.”
Upon imposing a sense of life without release, he added, “If not here, when then?”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, when he heard about Tarrant’s conviction, said it meant he “would have no fame, no platform … and we have no reason to think about him, for him to see or hear from him again.
“I hope today is the last one where we have cause to hear or speak out the name of the terrorist.”
The shooting prompted New Zealand to pass stricter gun laws and buy back certain types of weapons from owners.
On the last day of a four-day hearing, Justice Mander sentenced nearly an hour and reminded Tarrant of every person he murdered and injured.
He added that he, despite the shooter’s guilty pleas, “had no remorse or shame”.
Tarrant, who through a lawyer in court said he did not oppose the request for prosecution for a life without release, did not respond to the sentence.
He had earlier also refused the right to speak at his conviction.
He has appeared largely emotionless over the past three days as nearly 90 victims – some mourners, others defiant – confronted him.
Sara Qasem, whose father Abdelfattah Qasem died at the Al Noor Mosque, spoke about the last moments of his life. She said, “I wonder if he was in pain, if he was scared, and what were his last thoughts? And I wish more than anything in the world that I could be there to hold his hand and hold him tell them it would all be OK. ”
She struggled to hold back her tears before looking at Tarrant and saying “these tears are not for you”.
Taj Kamran, an Afghan refugee who was shot several times in the leg and still needs walking aids, said he would now “sleep”.
But he added, “No punishment will bring back our loved ones and our sorrow will continue for the rest of our lives.”
The shooter opened on March 15 last year at two mosques in the city.
He first directed worshipers inside the Al Noor mosque.
Less than 30 seconds later, he returned to his car to grab another weapon and then re-entered the mosque and started the fire.
The entire incident was broadcast on Facebook Live via a headcam he was wearing.
