Amazon asked to remove Robert Pickton book by publisher
B.C. premier says she will seek to adopt law stopping criminals profiting from their crimes
The publisher of a book apparently written by convicted serial killer Robert Pickton has asked online retailer Amazon to remove the item from sale.
Outskirts Press, a Colorado-based self-publishing service provider, also says it will discontinue publishing the text.
A statement from the company reads, "We have a long-standing policy of not working with, nor publishing work by, incarcerated individuals."
Pickton: In His Own Words had been available for $20.17 on Amazon since yesterday. Today, it is still available from previous links, but cannot be found by searching on either the dot-ca or dot-com version of the site.
The book is listed as being authored by Michael Chilldres, but the publisher says Pickton used him as means to get it the manuscript and publish the book.
News of the book's publication prompted B.C. Solicitor General Mike Morris to appeal to Amazon to stop selling the book.
'At a loss for words'
Premier Christy Clark says B.C. is looking at ways to stop criminals like Pickton from profiting from their crimes.
"To think about the pain that he's prepared to willingly cause all of the families," said Clark. "What kind of a twisted person would still not understand how hard it is for the family to endure all that again?"
It is not clear when the book was written or how the material arrived with the publisher.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia all have legislation preventing criminals from profiting from their crimes. Clark said the province is looking at those laws closely to see if they can be mirrored in B.C.
"If we can just copy it and move it to the legislature as quickly as possible, that's what we're trying to do."
The book was also a topic of debate in the House of Commons today. Former Surrey mayor and current Conservative MP Dianne Watts asked the government for assurance that the serial killer wouldn't benefit from the proceeds of his writing.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he is investigating how the book came to be published.
Pickton, now 66, was convicted of the second-degree murders of six women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and was suspected in others, although a further 20 murder charges were stayed.
He is currently serving multiple life sentences at the maximum security Kent Institution near Agassiz, B.C.