An outrage has erupted in Canada over a jailed serial killer becoming eligible for parole. In December 2007, Robert Pickton was convicted of the murders of six women and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Pickton was also accused of 20 other murders, with DNA evidence linking more missing women to his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, however, the charges were dropped since Pickton was already serving the maximum sentence. He has been accused of murdering up to 49 women and feeding the corpses to his pigs.
According to media reports, Pickton will be eligible for full parole beginning in 2027, 25 years after his first arrest on February 22, 2002.
Taking to X on 22nd February, Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poillevere expressed his disappointment over Pickton getting parole as he wrote, “Today, one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, Robert Pickton, has become eligible for parole. Monsters like this should never be released from prison. Common sense Conservatives believe that mass murderers should face consecutive sentences so they only come out of jail in a box.”
Today, one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, Robert Pickton, has become eligible for parole.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) February 22, 2024
Monsters like this should never be released from prison.
Common sense Conservatives believe that mass murderers should face consecutive sentences so they only come out of jail…
In a statement, Conservative leader Rob Moore said that “monsters like Pickton should never be eligible for parole.”
“Much like Paul Bernardo, the only way Robert Pickton should ever leave prison is in a coffin. Pickton’s parole eligibility means that for every two years from now until his death, he can retraumatize the families of his victims by making them explain why he must be held in prison,” Moore said.
Horrific monsters like Robert Pickton should never be eligible for parole. He deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
— Rob Moore (@RobMoore_CPC) February 22, 2024
Read my statement here⬇️ pic.twitter.com/029lj8Xjkc
On Wednesday, the families of Robert Pickton’s victims held a vigil at the former pig farm.
Michele Pineault, whose daughter Stephanie Lane’s DNA was discovered on the Pickton property, said “Pickton should not walk on this earth. He doesn’t deserve to take one step out of where he is. He needs to stay where he is until he dies.”
Lorelei Williams, the cousin of a victim whose DNA was found at the pig farm said that it is disgusting that Pickton can apply for day parole.
“I already don’t trust the justice system, and this just makes me not trust it even more because of the fact that a person like this could be let out of jail, or who would apply. … I really don’t believe that he’ll be given day parole, but the fact he can apply, it’s disgusting,” Williams said.
Several Canadian netizens expressed their anger over the chances of Pickton getting a parole year after he was found guilty of second-degree murder in December 2007.
An X user wrote, “We live in a country where serial killers like Robert Pickton or Paul Bernardo have more rights than your average citizen. This is Trudeau’s Canada.”
We live in a country where serial killers like Robert Pickton or Paul Bernardo have more rights than your average citizen.
— Mark Slapinski (@mark_slapinski) February 22, 2024
This is Trudeau's Canada.
Another one wrote, “Trudeau’s criminal-friendly policies have completely destroyed Canada’s justice system. B.C. Serial Killer Robert Pickton Qualifies for Day Parole.”
Trudeau's criminal-friendly policies have completely destroyed Canada's justice system.
— Calgary Channel (@CalgaryChannel) February 22, 2024
B.C. Serial Killer Robert Picton Qualifies for Day Parolehttps://t.co/Y6xgGelxvr
Notably, in December last year, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was accused of attempting to dispose of evidence in the case. In a letter to the federal public safety minister, the commissioner of the RCMP, and British Columbia’s attorney general and solicitor general, the families of Pickton’s victims had written demanding that immediate steps be taken to preserve the evidence in the case.
It was reported that the RCMP was planning to dump thousands of pieces of evidence seized by police during the investigation into the gruesome murders committed by Robert Pickton on his pig farm.
Crimes of Robert Pickton and Police mishandling
Robert Pickton was a Canadian serial killer who killed women, many of whom were sex workers or Indigenous, in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. He enticed ladies to his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, where he killed them. Despite evidence that a serial killer was active, his atrocities went un-investigated for many years. He was eventually captured in 2002 and convicted of six charges of murder in 2007, despite claiming to have killed 49 women in total. The case exposed systematic inadequacies in how police handled missing people, in particular sex workers and Indigenous women. An investigation revealed that police were inattentive and prejudiced in their handling of the case.
