Family Guilty of 'Honor Killing' of 3 Daughters, First Wife

Three Afghan-Canadians were convicted yesterday of the so-called "honor killing" of four members of their family, in a case that has shocked much of the country with its scope and cold-bloodedness, reports the Globe and Mail. Mohammad Shafia, his second wife, and their eldest son were found guilty of drowning the couple's three teenage daughters and Shafia's first wife. All face mandatory 25-year sentences with no chance for parole. The crimes represent a "sick notion of honor that has absolutely no place in any civilized society,” said the judge.

All three continue to proclaim their innocence, despite wiretap evidence. "This is not just,” Shafia's second wife told the court. “I am not a murderer and I am a mother." But the judge was unmoved. "It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime," he said. "The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honor, a notion of honor that is founded upon the domination and control of women.” (More honor killings stories.)