It’s been quite the few days for courtroom drama.

On December 9, Port Coquitlam pig farmer Robert Pickton was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder.

Today (December 10), former Canadian press baron Conrad Black was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and ordered to pay US$125,000. He was found guilty in July of three counts mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.

The very same hour, NFL star quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for running a “cruel and inhumane” dogfighting ring, Canadian Press reported.

In August 2007, Vick pleaded guilty to bankrolling the dogfighting operation, which was run on his Virginia property, and to assisting in the killing of dogs which did not perform well in test fights.

While there is no doubt the news in all three cases has been welcomed by those associated with the victims, it is worth noting that justice did come with a silver lining for the perpetrators.

Pickton was only convicted on charges of second-degree murder, which means that the jury could not find evidence that the killings were premeditated. Second-degree murderers are eligible for parole between 10 to 25 years, depending on the sentence, whereas first-degree murderers are not eligible for parole until they've served 25 years in jail. Both first-degree and second-degree murder carry life sentences.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice James Williams will deliver Pickton's sentence tomorrow (December 11).

Black could have faced a maximum jail time of 35 years. But hours before the official sentence of 78 months was delivered, Chicago federal judge Amie St. Eve publicly stated that she deemed a sentence range of 78 to 97 months appropriate. His final sentence is 78 months.

And Vick, perhaps the most publicly admonished of the three –he killed puppies– could have been sentenced to five years in prison, but instead will likely serve no more than 20 months with good behavior.

Since the news of Pickton’s conviction broke, several of the victim’s family members have questioned why a conviction of first-degree murder was not delivered. They will appear in court tomorrow to deliver victim-impact statements.