Everybody’s watching the Olympics. Well, not Jane Creba. Actually, since she was shot in 2005, she missed the last Olympics – the twentieth winter games, held in Turin in February of 2006. The resultant legal proceedings, on the other hand, seem to have a life of their own. One of the trials is still running, more than 4 years after the alleged fatal shooting. How is it that it takes longer than an Olympic cycle, or a presidential term, to wrap up a murder case?
Another example: John O’Keefe was out walking on Yonge St in the early morning of January 12, 2008 when he was fatally shot by a stranger. The alleged perp was apprehended within hours, but the trial is only starting now, two years later. In April 2006, 8 members of the Bandidos motorcycle club were murdered near London, Ontario by their associates. The trials concluded in October, 2009 – 3 ½ years later. But then, this is from the same justice system that could only charge mass-murderer Robert Pickton with 6 counts of murder even though there was evidence for 26 (and the real toll was probably closer to double that) because the system just couldn’t process that much information and it was feared that a full trial would collapse. In the event, time from arrest to conviction was almost 6 years.
On the other hand, if anybody actually cared about this it would be a public issue. The legal establishment seems fine with this length of proceedings and the public doesn’t even notice. Back to short-track speed skating . . .
