News Winter Updates Pickton Convicted of Second- “Degree Murder By Garth McLennan, News Editor Kn “Willie” Pickton has been convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. The now-infamous serial killer was found guilty of murdering Marnie Frey, Brenda Wolfe, Georgina Papin, Mona Wilson, Sereena Abotsway, and Andrea Joesbury last month, and will stand trial for the murder of 20 other women in January, with a tentative date being set for January 17. However, it is possible the trial for the other 20 deceased women could be delayed and postponed multiple times if Pickton opts to appeal his first conviction. “Mr. Pickton, there’s really nothing I can say to adequately express the revulsion the community feels about these killings,” Judge James Williams said. All of the women were from the downtown eastside, and had problems with drug addiction and prostitution. However, finding a motive was difficult for the brutal pig farmer. “There is nothing before this court that would enable an understanding of what motivated Mr. Pickton. The women who were murdered were members of our community. They were women who had troubled lives. Each of them found themselves in positions of extreme vulnerability. These were persons who were in the ugly grasp of substance abuse and addiction, persons who were selling their bodies to strangers in order to survive. What happened to them was senseless and despicable,” Williams said after the proceeding. Because of the trouble in establishing motive during the marathon 10 month trial that involved 128 different witnesses, the jury was unable to find sufficient evidence that Pickton’s actions were premeditated, and therefore first- degree murder. Normally, when a person is convicted of second-degree murder, they are deemed ineligible for parole for 10- 15 years. Pickton was denied parole by Judge Williams for the maximum 25 years, a sentence co-currant with first- degree murder. Due to provisions in the Canadian justice system, Pickton will not serve his six life sentences for murder consecutively. He will serve them co- currently. This means that Pickton will serve time in jail for all of his crimes at the same time, so he is really only serving time for the equivalent of one murder. The murders were of a gruesome and horrific nature. Wilson, Abotsway and Joesbury had their heads, hands, and feet dismembered and found in buckets on the Pickton farm, which is located in Port Coquitlam. Also discovered in buckets were parts of the jaws of Wolfe and Frey, as well as the hand bones of Papin. Five of Wolfe’s teeth were found in horse manure on the farm. After the judge and jury handed down the conviction and sentence, the court became even more emotional as the victim’s families were permitted to read out their victim impact statements. “Mr. Pickton, why would you do that? What did they do to you? You took something from me that is worth a million things to me. When you took her from me it was like ripping out my heart,” said Lynn Frey, the mother of Melanie Frey, reading the letter Melanie’s daughter Brittney wrote to Pickton. “T will never forget the damage that you caused our family with your evil deeds,” said Elana Papin, the sister of Georgina Papin. Throughout the readings of the victim impact statements, tears and sobs were seen and heard throughout the courtroom. Everyone, even lead prosecutor Mike Petrie, was overcome by emotion. Everyone that is, except Pickton, who sat stoically in his seat. RCMP Inspector Bill Fordy, the main interrogator of Pickton after he was arrested back in 2002, was not impressed with the verdicts returned by the jury. “We let these girls and women down in life. We’ve now let them down in death. Personally, I find it difficult to get my had around the notion that you could kill once, and commit subsequent offences, and it not be planned,” said Fordy. Black Gets 6.5 Years in Prison By Garth McLennan, News Editor Maeuia mogul Conrad Black was sentenced to six and a half years in the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, a Federal low-security penitentiary 100 kilometers from Tampa Bay, Florida. Black was convicted of fraud and was sentenced after it was proven he stole millions of dollars from Hollinger International, the company he was chief executive officer for. In addition to his sentence, which he will have to begin on March 3, Black will be slapped 6 with a $125,000 fine, and be ordered to relinquish $6.1 million. “Mr. Black, I cannot understand how somebody of your stature could engage in the conduct you engaged in and put everything at risk, including your reputation,” Judge Amy St. Eve told the ex-chairman and CEO. Juror James Kirby also weighed in. “Relative to the number of charges he was charged with versus what he was convicted of, I think it was relatively fair, I definitely think time should be served. As far as how long, I think ‘the judge is in a better position to make that determination, but I am pleased he is going to jail.” St. Eve had originally recommended a sentence of seven to eight years. ; “No one is above the law, and that Mr. Black, includes you.” St. Eve said. Black said little at his sentencing, but did promise an appeal. His Chicago based lawyer, Ed Genson, believed the trial was fair and that Black will indeed appeal. “Conrad has good appeal lawyers and hopefully he’s going to prevail on appeal,” he said. “I’m mainly impressed with Judge Amy St. Eve. I thought she gave us a fair trial and a fair hearing.” Black’s Canadian lawyer, Edward Greenspan, was not happy Black will have to go to jail, but said the sentencing could have been a lot worse. “I’m not pleased today that he gota single day in jail, but given what we came in to with this trial, we were facing allegations that included $90 million in fraud and we were facing what might have been tantamount to life in jail. It’s a very nerve-wracking beginning of a trial for someone charged with a non-violent offence. But that’s America today.” The prosecutors on the case were Satisfied with the verdict, despite their suggestion that Black be sentenced to 20 years in prison. Black has been highly critical of the prosecution throughout the case, even referring to them as “Nazis.” “Mr. Black is going to jail as a convicted felon, convicted of fraud. So we proved the case,” Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for Chicago, told reporters. “The bottom line is Mr. Black will do 6 1/2 years in jail. That’s a serious amount of time.” David Radler, a co-conspirator with Black in the case, agreed to testify against Black in exchange for a 29-month prison sentence that will be served in a Canadian penitentiary, where he will most likely be released 20 months earlier than he would in an American facility. Black and _ Radler - started Hollinger in 1969 with the ownership of a single Quebec newspaper. It is now named Sun-Times Media Group Inc. and is the world’s third largest publisher. Based in Chicago, its well known papers include The Vancouver Sun, The Vancouver Province, The National Post, London’s The Daily Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post, and The Chicago Sun- Times.