Shawn Hennessey, who along with Dennis Cheeseman pleaded guilty to manslaughter after the 2005 deaths of four Mounties at the hands of James Roszko, is eligible to apply for day parole.
A hearing has been set for June 2012 to determine if he would be ready for full parole.
In 2009, the two men each pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter after providing Roszko with a gun and a ride back to his property outside Mayerthorpe in 2005. There, Roszko lay in wait for the four Mounties to arrive before ambushing them and shooting them before turning the gun on himself.
The standoff at Roszko’s farm, where a marijuana grow-op and vehicle chop shop were found, left RCMP constables Brock Myrol, Peter Schiemann, Leo Johnston and Anthony Gordon, as well as Roszko, dead.
As a result of their guilty pleas, Hennessey and Cheeseman received sentences of 15 and 12 years in prison, respectively. Their sentences were reduced on account of their guilty pleas and to take into consideration the time they had already spent in custody.
After the reduction, Hennessey was left with 10 years and four months to serve behind bars.
There are mixed feelings about Hennessey being able to apply for parole. Family members say he has been doing everything he can to get home to his family.
On the other hand, family members of the officers killed don’t feel granting Hennessey parole would send the right message about the seriousness of his actions.
If he is granted day parole, Hennessey may be able to work during the day and then serve his sentence in a private residence at night.
As for Cheeseman, he had his application for day parole rejected last July after the parole board felt he had not done enough to reform while in prison.
