A serial killer is defined as “an individual who kills more than three people in succession without a cooling off period”. From the beginning of recorded history to the present day, humankind has seen its share of serial killers from Giles De Rais to Jack the Ripper, murder is not a new concept. However in 2006 a new name was added to the ongoing list of serial killers, Robert Pickton, aged 58, plead not guilty to 27 charges of first degree murder. During the course of his trial, a lengthy delay, an error in the charge and an appeal to Supreme Court of Canada are elements which make the Pickton case an unprecedented case in Canadian history. The trial began in 2006, evidence upon evidence was brought in to support the 27 counts of murder. The defense brought into question the legitimacy of …show more content…
The crown appealed on the acquittal of the first degree murder charges, as the error in the charge to the jury had influence the jury to find him “not guilty”. Additionally, the crown stated that the initial trial should have included the remaining twenty murder chargers and not just the six. The Crown also argued that the judge should have included dismemberment and disposal of the victims' remains as being deliberate and planned during his charge to the jury. The Defense also appealed the case on the error in the charge of the jury, requesting a retrial claiming the trial judge had not been precise enough in his charge. The British Colombia Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s decision saying that the errors were not serious enough to cause a change in the outcome. Pickton’s lawyer then exercised the right to submit the case to the Supreme Court of Canada based on the result of the appeal court. The case was rejected with a unanimous decision, however the legal issue of the charge was still debatable as the Supreme Court had ruled 6 to 3 on the legality of the re-charge to the jury. This was not