Metro Vancouver mayors demand Pickton never be granted parole

A dozen mayors from Metro Vancouver have sent a letter to the federal justice minister demanding that serial killer Robert Pickton never be granted day parole.

The letter said that allowing Pickton any level of parole “would undermine the integrity of our justice system and also jeopardize the safety and well-being of our communities.”

“He demonstrated a lack of remorse and the depravity of his actions serve as stark reminders of the danger he poses to society.”

Pickton, 74, is a serial rapist and killer who was charged in 2002 with the murders of 26 women, almost all of whom he picked up in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and took to his home in Port Coquitlam where they were brutalized and killed. In 2007, Pickton was convicted of the murders of six of those women whose remains were found at his pig farm.

He was given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years, meaning February 2027.

However, federal law states a person with Pickton's sentence can apply for day parole three years before becoming eligible to apply for full parole.

The Parole Board of Canada has confirmed that Pickton can ask for day parole, but such requests can take months before a hearing is scheduled. The board said that it had not received an application from Pickton for day parole.

“Should Pickton apply for parole, we respectfully urge you to take all necessary measures to ensure that he is not granted parole under any circumstances,” reads the mayors' letter addressed to federal Justice Minister Arif Virani.

The letter, dated April 24, was signed by the mayors of Vancouver, Delta, Anmore, Belcarra, Burnaby, Lions Bay, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, West Vancouver, White Rock and Port Moody.