The only thing that will decide the fate of a Sudbury man convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson causing bodily harm is the severity of the sentence for the latest charge.

A jury found 29-year-old Liam Stinson guilty of those four charges in May after nearly three hours of deliberation.

Stinson was convicted in connection with setting in motion a plan to start a fire at a mansion on Bruce Avenue by throwing homemade Molotov cocktails, killing three people and seriously injuring another.

As a result, Jamie-Lynn Rose, Jasmine Somers and Guy Henri lost their lives, while David Cheff jumped from the upper window to escape the flames.

Stinson faces a mandatory 25-year life sentence with no chance of parole for the murder conviction.

Crown attorney Kaely Whillans is also asking Judge Dan Cornell to sentence Stinson to the maximum sentence possible for the arson charge, namely seven years to life in prison with no chance of parole, along with other sentences.

Stinson’s lawyer, Liam Thompson, argued that his client did not deserve the maximum penalty for the arson charge because he had already been sentenced to “the most severe penalty in Canadian law,” a reference to the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder.

Instead, Thompson is recommending an eight-year prison sentence, which would be linked to lower parole eligibility in this case.

He argued that to punish Stinson to the fullest extent, there would have to be evidence of cruelty, brutality, and sadistic intent to satisfy the offender; He argued that this did not exist.

Thompson also disagreed that although Jamie-Lynn Rose was Stinson’s ex-girlfriend, the element of intimate partner violence was an aggravating factor in this case.

Stinson’s lawyer says maximum sentence for arson would be mistake

He also argued that there were mitigating factors in his client’s case, such as having the support of his family, trying to be a father to his children while in custody, and having completed his high school education and acquired life skills. lessons while in prison.

As a result, Thompson told Judge Dan Cornell, the maximum sentence for the arson charge would be similar to the penalty for a conviction for attempted murder.

That was not the charge in question, he said, and although Stinson was initially charged with the attempted murder of David Cheff, that was changed to arson causing bodily harm just before his trial.

The judge offered Stinson the opportunity to speak, but he declined.

Judge Dan Cornell will announce his decision on December 11, 2024.