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Canadian serial killer launches appeal
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - A pig farmer who was convicted in 2007 of murdering six prostitutes in western Canada has launched his appeal, calling on a regional judge to declare a mistrial.
Lawyers for Robert Pickton told the British Columbia Court of Appeal on Monday that convictions against their client should be overturned because the original trial judge made errors in his instructions to the jury.
But if a new trial is ordered, prosecutors are expected to call for a slew of 20 murder charges still pending against Pickton to be included in the retrial.
A provincial attorney general had previously indicated that the 20 addition charges would not be pursued as Pickton had already received the maximum sentence possible.
The case has received widespread media attention in Canada, and a small band of protesters pounded drums and chanted outside the Vancouver court as hearings began.
Pickton, who has been in jail since his arrest in February 2002, was not present.
Opposition politicians and friends and families of the victims have long said they want murder trials to proceed on the remaining 20 cases.
Activists have also called for a public inquiry into the vanishing of dozens of women from the late 1970s until 2002 -- including Pickton's victims and alleged victims.
They disappeared from Vancouver's Eastside, one of Canada's most economically depressed areas. Many of the victims were thought to be drug-addicted prostitutes.
The appeal hearing is scheduled to last nine days, but a decision could take several months.
A further appeal to the country's top court, the Supreme Court of Canada, is also possible.
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - A pig farmer who was convicted in 2007 of murdering six prostitutes in western Canada has launched his appeal, calling on a regional judge to declare a mistrial.
Lawyers for Robert Pickton told the British Columbia Court of Appeal on Monday that convictions against their client should be overturned because the original trial judge made errors in his instructions to the jury.
But if a new trial is ordered, prosecutors are expected to call for a slew of 20 murder charges still pending against Pickton to be included in the retrial.
A provincial attorney general had previously indicated that the 20 addition charges would not be pursued as Pickton had already received the maximum sentence possible.
The case has received widespread media attention in Canada, and a small band of protesters pounded drums and chanted outside the Vancouver court as hearings began.
Pickton, who has been in jail since his arrest in February 2002, was not present.
Opposition politicians and friends and families of the victims have long said they want murder trials to proceed on the remaining 20 cases.
Activists have also called for a public inquiry into the vanishing of dozens of women from the late 1970s until 2002 -- including Pickton's victims and alleged victims.
They disappeared from Vancouver's Eastside, one of Canada's most economically depressed areas. Many of the victims were thought to be drug-addicted prostitutes.
The appeal hearing is scheduled to last nine days, but a decision could take several months.
A further appeal to the country's top court, the Supreme Court of Canada, is also possible.
