The pig farmer...

[fajrdrako]

So Robert Pickton has been ruled guilty. Is anyone in Canada surprised? He's been found guilty (so far) on six counts of second-degree murder.

Interestingly, according to an article in The Ottawa Citizen that quotes from a letter he wrote, Pickton said he did it because God told him to rid the world of evil.

The levels of irony in the comment amuse me.

Comments

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

How is it possible that the conviction was not for 1st degree murder?
Why is the jury wimping out?

Under Canadian law, life imprisonment's the worst that can happen, right?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

How is it possible that the conviction was not for 1st degree murder?
Why is the jury wimping out?

I suspect Canadians from one coast to the other are wondering the same thing. If that isn't first degree murder, what is? and why isn't it?

Under Canadian law, life imprisonment's the worst that can happen, right?

Well, we don't have execution or torture, if that's what you're asking. Pickton has more murder charges to come - I've no idea why they separated them. One assumes he will never be free again. Or at least... one certainly hopes. After the Karla Homolka fiasco (do people know about that in the States?) one wonders.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

Um, why the crack about torture?

Myself, however, I have no problem with the death penalty
for gruesome serial murderers. If anyone deserves it,
they do.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I was trying to think what would be worse than imprisonment, besides execution. It wasn't meant to be a crack. And yes, it's hard to believe that someone like Pickton deserves to live - that he isn't too dangerous to life.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Some of us who watch Canadian TV on occasion know about Homolka.

And I know what you mean about fiascos -- Gary Ridgeway, aka the Green River Killer, who terrorized western Washington for more than a decade, is serving life in prison on a plea bargain (they gave him life in exchange for the locations of more of the women he murdered). If ever anyone deserved the death penalty...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It seems horrific that the law makes deals with killers in exchange for the truth. It's like - justice loses, whatever the outcome.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Yes. Someone needs to come up with a way (other than torture) to make criminals give the information that the law needs other than bargaining away the punishment those criminals deserve.

Too bad nobody's invented fast penta yet...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Fast penta would help a lot.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Indefinite imprisionment, if he gets tagged "dangerous offender"...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And surely if ever an offender was dangerous, Pickton is?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Him, and a few others.