This is another process that takes place in a court of law with a judge and a jury. It might happen after an offender serving a life sentence has been in prison for at least 15 years.

Offenders convicted of first or second-degree murder can apply for a reduction in the number of years they must serve in prison before becoming eligible for parole under Section 745 of the Criminal Code (the Faint Hope Clause).

A first-degree murder conviction means that the offender is sentenced to life with no possibility of parole until he has served 25 years. A second-degree murder conviction means that the offender is sentenced to life with no possibility of parole until he or she has served from 10 to 25 years, depending on what the judge decided at the time of sentencing.

The Faint Hope Clause allows those offenders to apply for early parole consideration after they have served only 15 years of their sentence. The offender’s request is heard by a judge and a 12-member jury panel in a court of law. The jury has several options: they can turn down the application, they can reduce the number of years to be served before the offender is eligible for parole or they can make the offender immediately eligible for parole. The jury’s decision must be unanimous. The key issue is the risk posed to society if the inmate is released.

Even if the jury recommends that the offender is eligible for parole at an earlier date, the offender still has to go through the parole review process. 

Mennonite Central Committee Canada. (2011). Getting through the maze: A guidebook for survivors of homicide.