Appeal planned — Warren convicted in Giant mine deaths

The defence team of Roger Warren intends to appeal Warren’s conviction on nine counts of second-degree murder in the bombing deaths of nine miners at the Giant gold mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T.

“It starts with the voir dire issues,” says Lillian Boothroyd, co-counsel for the defence. “The appeal will be filed within the next two weeks.” A voir dire was held to determine, among other things, whether Warren’s confession to setting the bomb should be admitted as evidence at his trial, Canadian Press reports. The defence argued Warren’s confession should never have been admitted because it was not voluntary.

Warren, 51, sat stone-faced as an 11-member jury ended his 11-week murder trial by convicting him of second-degree murder. He had been charged with nine counts of first-degree murder. He was to be sentenced Jan. 26. The defence plans to appeal Warren’s conviction based primarily on Mr. Justice Mark de Weerdt’s decision to allow the confession into evidence. At the trial, Warren said the videotaped and audiotaped statements he gave to police were lies. A striking miner at the time of the blast, Warren claimed he falsely confessed to help settle the long labor standoff. Crown attorney Peter Martin said the confession turned the case for the police, especially because it was backed up by finding a pair of burned boots and scrap materials used to make the bomb that Warren had tried to destroy. It was Sgt. Gregg McMartin of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to whom Warren, confessed to setting the bomb that killed the men on Sept. 18, 1992, during a labor dispute in the gold mine owned by Royal Oak Mines.