December 5th, 2007. A small candlelight vigil is held for the victims at the corner of East Cordova and Columbia on Vancouver’s downtown Eastside.

The jury in the Pickton trial reached a verdict this morning. He was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder. Pickton was, of course, originally charged with six counts of first-degree murder. In Canada, first-degree murder is defined as follows:

“First degree murder is a murder which is (1) planned and deliberate, (2) contracted, (3) where the victim is an identified peace officer (4) in the furtherance of another serious criminal offence (kidnapping, robbery, harassment, terrorist activity, or using explosives within criminal organizations, etc.).”

Therefore, having been found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder, the conviction finds Pickton innocent of premeditation. Given that he fed his victims to pigs, one has to ultimately wonder how that isn’t an act of premeditation when it was done repeatedly? Obviously, given the various unknowns that plagued the case, the jury was ultimately left with no other option than to find him guilty of a lesser charge.

In all, Pickton has been charged with the deaths of 26 women, to which he pleaded not guilty. Having been found guilty of these six murders, another trial will eventually take place regarding the remaining 19*.

The verdict reached this morning has to do with the deaths of:

Pickton has also been charged with murder in the first degree of:

Pickton has also been implicated, though not charged, in the murders of:

The BC government has ordered a public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski and the use of Tasers. From the CBC…

“Solicitor General John Les said Monday afternoon that for the sake of public safety and public confidence, there needs to be “a comprehensive and independent look at all the issues.”

The inquiry will not only examine the death of Dziekanski, but will look at the policy of Taser use by police in British Columbia.

The release of a video recording of the incident last Wednesday led to widespread condemnation of police use of the weapon.

“If B.C. and Canada are to welcome the world to our doorstep, we need to learn from this tragedy and do better,” Les said.

“There are a number of processes that have been launched to date, and we are confident they will be thorough. But it is equally important that we establish an open and integrative review,” the minister said.

“Public safety and confidence demands a comprehensive and independent look at all of these issues.”

The commissioner of the inquiry will be identified in the near future, and formal terms of reference will be drafted at that time, said Les. Once appointed, the commissioner will start the review immediately.

The commissioner will also determine the appropriate time to conduct the remainder of the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Dzeikanski’s death, taking into account the fact that a homicide investigation is underway.”

If a homicide investigation is underway then the incident is being treated as a crime – and so it should be.

Also in Taser related news…

“A 20-year-old man died Sunday after being shot with a Taser device during a scuffle with a sheriff’s deputy in Maryland, a spokeswoman for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said.

Cpl. Jennifer Bailey said deputies responding to a report of a fight in progress arrived at the location in Frederick, Maryland, just before 5 a.m. ET and found four people fighting.

A deputy used a Taser device on one of the men, who fell unconscious, Bailey said.

The man was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity was not immediately released, pending the notification of his family.

The deputy, who has not been identified publicly, has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the completion of an investigation, Bailey said.

Amnesty International has reported that, since June 2001, more than 150 people have died in the United States after being subdued with a stun gun. The organization has called for police departments to suspend use of the devices pending study of their possible risks.

Few have done so, said Amnesty, which added that more than 7,000 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies use the devices.”