The family of 21-year-old murder victim, David Persaud attended court proceedings Monday, to read victim impact statements and "look at the man who killed their son in the eye".
Deodat and Jasmatti Persaud, David's parents, both broke down crying while reading their statements.
"I am my sad self; sadness has become my friend, my constant companion," said David's father, Deodat Persaud.
David's father said Tuesday that he's found it in his heart to forgive Dwayne Nelson, however he said he'll always wonder why.
"Not only you killed him, if you had taken five minutes in your life to know my son, Dave, you never would have pulled the trigger," said David's mother, Jasmatti.
Dwayne Nelson, 24, has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of Dave Persaud, 21, Thomas Orak, 19 and Jacey Pinnock, 27.
All three victims were shot dead at Red Light Lounge in downtown Edmonton on Oct. 29, 2006.
22 letters of support for Dwayne Nelson were also entered into evidence with most from friends and family in his native Trinidad. He came to Canada when he was 13 years old.
Oswald Nelson, Dwayne's father addressed the court talking about the rules he outlined for his three sons including Dwayne.
"I had always expressed to them about picking friends. I had drilled it into him so many times about making the right decisions," he said. "The same things I tried to preach to him have come back to haunt us."
He went on to talk about how this has devastated the family. The 60-year-old quit his job as a painter with Edmonton Public Schools because of the anguish and stress.
Defence lawyer, Dino Bottos suggested in closing arguments that his client has no previous record and that there's an absence of evidence of gang activity.
Bottos went on to argue that Nelson did confess and was respectful to the police detectives and that he was provoked that night by having bottles thrown at him.
"It's not based on greed or profit and it did not include any premeditation," said Bottos.
Bottos said Nelson, "lost his way" after moving out of his parents house six months before the shooting.
Crown prosecutor, John Watson made arguments on parole eligibility asking for 16-19 years, citing the multiple victims, Nelson's gang associations and the randomness of the act. "It was by chance, not by design that there weren't more people killed that night," said Watson.
The defence argued Nelson's lack of a criminal record, his confession to police and the provocation of the fight should all be taken into consideration, asking for 13 to 15 years minus two for time served in the Remand Centre.
Nelson's second-degree murder conviction brings an automatic life sentence with a minimum 10 years before he is eligible for parole.
The judge went with 15 years from the date of Nelson's arrest.
Dwayne Nelson was kicked out of the bar on October 29, 2006 after a fight over a spilled drink.
He retreived a loaded handgun from a vehicle, walked back into the club and opened fire killing David Persaud, Thomas Orak and his own friend Jacey Pinnock.
A police tape shown during the trial, showed Nelson confessing to killing the bar patrons, after some questioning from an Edmonton homicide detective.
With files from CTV's Erin Isfeld
