Pickton conviction appealed

The crown attorney general in British Columbia, Wally Oppal, is appealing the conviction of Robert Pickton, who was tried and convicted for the murders of six women in Vancouver. The crown maintains that numerous errors were made, such as Mr. Justice James Williams having refused to allow the crown to pursue convictions against all twenty-six women Pickton is alleged to have murdered, as well as having failed to uphold the law by allowing the jurors to find Pickton guilty of second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder. This comes in advance of Pickton’s lawyers filing their own appeal by the deadline on Thursday, which apparently will make many similar allegations against the judge and the trial proceedings.

When I first heard this news on the radio this morning, I thought it was a misfire by the prosecuting team, and I could not for the life of me understand why they were appealing a conviction. Sure, they didn’t nail him for all twenty-six murders, and they didn’t put him away for first-degree murder, but they still put him behind bars for twenty-five to life, didn’t they? Why would they risk throwing this away; why not simply hold a second trial for the other twenty women? I’m kind of proud that I managed to work out the answer on my own before looking it up on news, but a little ashamed that it took me the whole day to do it: if Pickton’s lawyers appeal and the crown does not, and the appeal is granted, the crown will only be able to try him on second-degree murder charges. This way, by virtue of having filed its own appeal, the prosecution leaves open the possibility that Pickton will be retried for first-degree murder.

More likely, in my judgment, is that all the appeals will be thrown out and the crown will proceed with a separate trial for the remaining women. Nobody wants to deal with the time, to say nothing of the expense, that would be involved in retrying a man so he can be put in prison for life again. At least, I hope that’s what happens, because we—and the families of the murdered women—so don’t need another year or so of waiting around to see if the crown can actually put away a murderer after years of inaction and a hiccuping justice system.