Lawyers may seek agreement on Bishop murder charges

The case against former Cambridge Bay resident Chris Bishop, whose convictions in 2010 on three counts of second degree murder and two counts of attempted murder were overturned in an appeal, may end in a negotiated resolution, the Nunavut Court of Justice heard after an Aug. 12 hearing.

That means if defence lawyer James Morton and Crown prosecutor Paul Culver can come to an agreement on a sentence, a retrial might be avoided.

On Jan. 6, 2007, Bishop was the target of a home invasion in Cambridge Bay, which led to three men being killed, and two others wounded.

Found guilty on three counts of second-degree murder in 2010 and two counts of attempted murder, Bishop was sentenced to life imprisonment with 16 years without parole.

The Nunavut Court of Appeal overturned those convictions last January after two of three appeal court judges ruled Vertes made errors preventing Bishop from making a full defence.

The case will be spoken to Sept. 9 at the Nunavut Court of Justice assignment court.

Although Culver said nothing can be concluded within the next month, as he has to “light a fire under the RCMP” to get information from them.

He also said witnesses “scattered across Canada” make it a difficult case to organize.

Both lawyers are based in Toronto, and said they can talk about resolving the matters there.

Justice Robert Kilpatrick said he wants to make the case a priority because it’s getting “very stale.”

Morton said whatever the outcome, Bishop is keen to push on with the case “one way or the other.”

There is still the possibility of the case going to a trial, however. If it does come to that, Morton said the trial could take two or three weeks.

Bishop remains in custody at an Ontario jail.