Crown drops Supreme Court appeal; Bishop retrial to be held in Nunavut

A Nunavut man convicted in June 2010 — following a jury trial held in Iqaluit — on three counts of second degree murder and two counts of attempted murder will get a new trial that will take place in Nunavut.

Chris Bishop, 27, who has been in custody since 2007, will get the new trial after Crown prosecutors involved in the case decided to withdraw a Supreme Court of Canada appeal made this past March to overturn a Nunavut appeal court decision that ordered a new trial for Bishop.

Bishop’s charges flowed from a blood-soaked incident in Cambridge Bay on Jan. 6, 2007, when three people died of gunshot wounds and two were wounded.

Following Bishop’s convictions, Justice John Vertes sentenced Bishop to a mandatory term of life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for at least 16 years.

In a decision issued this past Jan. 28, two of three judges sitting on the Nunavut Court of Appeal ruled that Vertes made errors in fact and law that prevented Bishop from making a full defence.

James Morton, who has been involved with the case and has represented Bishop in the past, said he is pleased with the Crown’s acceptance of the Nunavut appeal court ruling.

“A retrial will allow everyone, Chris Bishop, the community and all Nunavummiut closure. We hope for a retrial as soon as possible,” he said.

Abandoning the appeal against the retrial also shortens the timeline of the case.

“It cuts the better part of a year off the timeframe,” Morton said.

A bail hearing is schedule for July 18 at the Nunavut Court of Justice.

Bishop’s lawyers want to set a trial date for as soon as possible.