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Final Arguments Submitted in Gill Murder Case

A P Kamath in Vancouver

Despite the professed conversions in the jail, and at least two profound apologies to the family of the man they had killed and to the Indian Canadian family, the skinheads should not get a lenient sentence, said prosecutor Ron Caryer.

In all, five young men have confessed to the beating of Nirmal Singh Gill, 65, a caretaker of the gurdwara in Surrey, last year. All five men are linked to a Nazi skinhead group called White Power.

Apart from the two who apologised personally, one skinhead offered an apology through his lawyer, and the remaining two refused to join the three.

The five -- ranging in age from 18 to 27 --will return to court to be sentenced on November 16.

Caryer made the plea on Thursday, the last day of a sentencing hearing. He urged to be wary of belated shows of empathy for the victim. Earlier, he had accused the five of growing hair to look decent and win the sympathy of the jury.

"This last-minute show of remorse is totally inconsistent with any behaviour leading up to the sentencing hearing," Caryer said. The prosecutors have said that the five men had continued to boast about the murder for a long time, and in conversation with an undercover police officer said they would kill again to maintain the interests of white Canadians.

Nathan LeBlanc, Robert Kluch, Radoslaw Synderek, Daniel Miloszewski and Lee Nikkel pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Gill's death. But their lawyers have told the court that the five were not motivated by racial hatred and had started beating Gill while they were under the influence of alcohol. Gill was kicked to death on January 4, 1998, outside the gurdwara where he was the caretaker.

Synderek, 24, and Miloszewski, 22, took the stand during the hearing to apologize for the crime. The parents of Miloszewksi, who, like Gill came to Canada as refugees made an emotional appeal for leniency in the court. They said they had raised their son to be a tolerant person. The mother said her son was ragged and humiliated by his Indian Canadian classmates.

Nikkel, 18, offered an apology through his lawyer. LeBlanc, 27 and Kluch, 26 offered no apology. In fact, both men told their lawyers they continue to hold the same beliefs.

The prosecution is seeking life sentences for the five because the crime was motivated by hatred and racial bias. This is the first major case to use the law that lets judges to impose stiffer sentences for hate crimes.

All five men pose a risk to the public, Caryer said.

Defence lawyers have argued for separate sentences for each, particularly Synderek, who professes to have played a lesser part in Gill's beating.

All said they were extremely drunk at the time and that they did not know Gill was Indo-Canadian.

But Caryer said the attack was premeditated and racially motivated and all five deserve life sentences.

The court heard statements made by the accused and taped by undercover police officers in which the five talked about more violence.

"Kill one and you're a murderer, kill many and you're a conqueror, kill them all and you're a god," Miloszewski said on one tape.

All spoke about a plan to enter a gurdwara and start shooting if the police were coming to nab them.

Weapons and ammunition were found in LeBlanc's home after his arrest, the prosecution said, adding there were also human-shaped targets for shooting practice.

The court has also heard that LeBlanc wrote to a white man in Texas facing the death penalty for the dragging death of a black man.

"You should have been given a medal," LeBlanc wrote from his jail cell.

Kluch, Synderek and Miloszewski also boasted to undercover police officers about the killing and provided grisly details to convince the officers that they could pull off a hit.

"We can kill, no problem," said Synderek.

Miloszewski told the officers they needed money to start "a racial holy war" and that he wanted to kill thousands. But his lawyer said he made the statement under the influence of alcohol and that it should not be taken literally.

He said in his apology in court that he has been reading a lot of literature against violence and racism and that he wants to offer his services to society after serving his sentence.

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