Sunday, December 9, 2007

It's murder two for Pickton

Robert William Pickton has been found guilty on six counts of murder two. My suspicion is that the prosecution will appeal, wanting nothing less than murder one -- perhaps citing the admission that the judge admitted he screwed up the instructions to the jury on the difference between the two levels.

Regardless, there still remain twenty indictments outstanding that Pickton must stand trial for. And absolutely nothing has changed to protect sex trade workers. Nothing. I griped about this back in January and the fact is that women still have to face the scorn of law enforcement officials' and the general public's indifference.

I for one refuse to remain silent. As a man, it's time to ensure that if women must work in that particular business, that they have the same rights as the men who exploit them. We have safe drug injection sites and vans; prostitutes deserve safe houses as well. As long as the criminal law give greater protection to pimps and johns than to the ladies of the night, none of us has the right to feel truly safe.

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2 comments:

S.K. said...

No the crown will not appeal a murder 2 conviction and there is no reason to. Murder is murder. it's only a parole elegibility difference, which is a non issue in this case with six convictions. He will never be given parole. He could be elegible tomorrow and he would never be given parole. Murder is a life sentence. There will be no appeal from the crown.

There is also no reason to go ahead with the other trials and they are less likely convictions. he is in prison for the rest of his life. A public inquiry would much better serve theinterests of the public the victims and allow the families to know their children were not taken in vain and that perhaps things may change. Another trial will change nothing.

Unknown said...

Hi Robert, I was browsing and it brought me to your msn space and then here. The Pickton case is such a sad and horrific story. I'm just thankful that it's finally over and done with but the families will have to live with this forever. If you should decide to visit, my url is:
http://dreamer9491.spaces.live.com/
I will add you to my friends list on msn if you'll accept me and come back here to visit again. Have a nice week, Carol