Supreme Court Rejects Robert Pickton’s New Trial Request
Posted July 30, 2010 10:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Serial killer Robert Pickton won’t be getting a new trial.
The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously rejected Pickton’s request for a new trial after he was convicted in December 2007 for the second-degree murders of six Vancouver women, Mona Wilson, Sereena Abotsway, Brenda Wolfe, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury and Georgina Papin.
The pig farmer was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The defence appealed his conviction, claiming Justice James Williams compromised Pickton’s right to a fair trial when he erred in his last-minute instructions to the jury.
The jury had asked the judge if they could convict Pickton, even if they weren’t certain that he acted alone. The Crown based its case on the fact that Pickton was solely responsible for the murders.
Williams told the 12-member panel they could convict if they believed Pickton was an active participant.
“Realistically, this case was never about whether Mr. Pickton had a minor role in the murder of the victims. It was about whether or not he had actually killed them,” Justice Louise Charron wrote in the Supreme Court ruling.
Pickton is still facing charges for the murders of 20 other women. The trial for those counts was delayed pending the Supreme Court ruling. Now that the top court has denied Pickton’s request, the charges will likely be stayed.
With files from the Canadian Press
