Thread: Mexican court overturns extradition ban

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 286893.htm

Posted on Tue, Nov. 29, 2005

Mexico court rules criminals facing life terms can be extradited

E. EDUARDO CASTILLO

Associated Press


MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that suspects facing life in prison can be extradited, overturning a 4-year-old ban that had prevented many of the country's most notorious criminals from being sent to the United States.

A 1978 treaty with the United States allows Mexico to deny extradition if a person faces the death penalty - a restriction that still stands under Tuesday's ruling. In 2001, the Supreme Court also blocked extradition of suspects facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Capital punishment has been banned by Mexico's constitution since June and was only rarely applied for decades before that. Life sentences are also rare.

The high court took up the issue after the government of the northern state of Chihuahua modified its penal code to include life sentences in convictions involving homicide and kidnapping.

Tuesday's ruling also declared Chihuahua's state law constitutional, setting a precedent that could allow for more life sentences.

Judges ruled 6-5 to throw out the life without parole restriction, but their ruling will not ease extradition restrictions for suspects who could face the death penalty, a court spokesman said.

He said the ruling will apply to all suspects captured in Mexico - including U.S. citizens who commit crimes, then flee south of the border.

During a full high court session, 10 judges normally vote. In the case of a tie, chief justice Mariano Azuela is called upon to cast the deciding vote.

The 2001 ban kept many of the country's top drug lords and other notorious suspects in Mexico - and out of reach of U.S. authorities.

In one of the latest cases, Raul Gomez-Garcia was caught in Mexico in June after being accused of killing a Denver police officer. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey brought second-degree murder charges against Gomez-Garcia because a first-degree charge could have blocked the extradition by allowing life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The U.S. Embassy had no comment on Tuesday's ruling.

The federal attorney general's office is considering U.S. extradition requests for Benjamin Arellano Felix, the reputed head of the Tijuana-based cocaine- and marijuana-smuggling syndicate bearing his family's name.

U.S. prosecutors are also seeking to try Osiel Cardenas, who authorities say ran the Gulf cartel and was responsible for moving thousands of tons of cocaine and other narcotics across the Texas border.

Despite Tuesday's ruling, Mexican law still requires that suspects be tried first in this country before being sent abroad for new trials.

This changes nothing!

P

John and Ken have LA District Attorney Steve Cooley on the air right now talking about this and he thinks it is a significant step to extradite criminals back into the United States that were previously being protected by Mexico. From what I heard it sounds like a positive step from their earlier policy.

Why should we fit the bill for housing and feeding them when they arent citizens? I understand that we need to prosecute these people but it should be up to the US to put these people on death row, not a foregn government stating we arent going to send our people to be killed when they borke the law! Such BS

P

Face it the death penalty in its current form is a joke in the United States. Waiting 20 years or more to put someone to death is way too long. If we can at least get them back to serve a life term I'm all for it. I believe it costs the taxpayers more for a death penalty case then it does to put someone in jail for life. A lot of the expenses are run up in lawyer fees and court costs for all the appeals. Thank the judicial system for destroying any quick justice, and in effect undermining the death penalty as a punishment.

I hear yeah, i say give them 5yrs 3 appeals and throw the switch! It takes way to long to kill someone!

P

I'd love to allow them only 2 years before they fry.
Unfortunately we did away with the electric chair and basically euthanize them like an animal because it is more humane.

I didnt mean electric chair i just mean throw the switch, basically giving them the injection, which i think is to humane!

P

Everytime I hear the word switch with the death penalty I associate it with the electric chair.

I guess Mexihole was too worried about losing out on their foreign aide welfare handout from Congress.