Roger Warren
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roger Warren is a former miner who was convicted of 9 counts of second-degree murder in connection to the 1992 Giant Mine bombings near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Warren was convicted (in 1995) largely due to his confession to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which some groups, particularly those connected with organized labour, have claimed was false. Warren himself later recanted the confession, and argued throughout his trial that he was innocent.
In 2003 it was reported that Warren again confessed to the bombing, saying that he acted alone, although some have speculated that this was to protect his family from the financial burden more legal battles would bring. This second confession followed the decision by the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, (well-known for overturning the convictions of wrongly jailed, such as David Milgaard), not to re-open the case.
During testimony at a July 2004 lawsuit (filed by the widows of the victims), Warren blamed poor security, his union and the company that owned the mine, Royal Oak Mines Incorporated, for provoking him. He claimed that a simple screen and padlock over a broken window would have dissuaded him, and that he was only capable of the bombing because strike-breakers had been "dehumanized" by his union. He also claimed that "(his) termination resulted in the deaths of nine men."
Warren was portrayed by Frank Moore in the 1996 CBC Television film Giant Mine.
