The Supreme Court of Canada has a case pending that touches on the death penalty in the U.S. Thought the TM might be interested: Minister of Justice v. Burns and Rafay
Washington State has applied to extradite two Canadian citizens, who are accused of a brutal murder-for-insurance-money case in Washington. The prosecutors will seek the death penalty if the matter comes to trial.
Under section 6 of our Charter of Rights, a Canadian citizen has a right to stay in Canada. Nor do we have the death penalty. The two are arguing that it breaches their s. 6 right to be extradited to a country where they face the death penalty.
The courts in British Columbia have accepted this argument, and have blocked the extradition unless Washington agrees not to seek the death penalty.
Any thoughts? Does this argument mean Canada will be a haven for Canadians who kill in the U.S. and flee to Canada?
I’ll answer that last question first…I think yes, it has already happened. In fact, but my understanding, Canada won’t extradite if there is threat of the death penalty whether the individual is Canadian, American, Burmese or Martian. I believe some Americans have actually escaped extradition in Canada.
I gotta admire the Canadians their moxie on this one. But I doubt that the US would stoop to similar tactics (would we send someone back to China for trial if they were charged with practicing the wrong religion?) So if Canada is willing to take care of these prisoners for us, hell, more power to them.
Canada is not the only nation that will not extradite suspected criminals who will face the death penalty in an US trial. Most of Europe is the same. IIRC, there is a fairly famous, who’s name escapes me right now (yeah, that (in)famous) american citizen that France won’t extradite because he would face the possibility of the death penalty in the US.
I don’t have the cites with me right now, but this happens occasionaly and usually the US prosecutor usually has to cut a deal with the foreign nation not to seach the death penalty if they are to get the suspect extradited back to the states.
Under International law, there are such things as “crimes against humanity”, ie crimes that are always crimes no matter where. Murder (1st) is one of these. Murder is also a crime in Canada.
When we are talking about something like draft evasion, then “it is not a serious crime here” is a good reason for not extraditing, as that is NOT a crime against humanity.
Daniel, no one is arguing that Canadians apprive of murder. What they don’t approve of is the death penalty. They aren’t going to send their citizens to another country to be murdered. I don’t really blame them.
As previously mentioned, this happens fairly often.
I believe Mr. Ng has since been convicted in California and got the death penalty (now under appeal).
Xgemina - are you thinking of the Ira Einhorn case (“the unicorn”)? The French courts have ordered his extradition - I thought on the condition that he be re-tried (he was already tried in absentia in Pennsylvania) - didn’t know about the condition about not seeking the death penalty.
I don’t know about that. Under our criminal law, the courts don’t have jurisdiction over murder committed outside the country. So if they don’t get extradited, it’s not like they’ll be tried here.
Actually, the French decision to block extradition was because Einhorn was tried in absentia. The death penalty was only an additional horror to what they already thought of as an abridgement of a fundamental right.
While I am no fan of the French in any way, I can grudgingly accept their reasoning. A good overview of the Einhorn case can be found at: http://crimelibrary.com/classics/einhorn/
I don’t know what the law on crimes against humanity is in the U.S., but murder by itself isn’t a crime against humanity in Canada.
Murder can be an aspect of a crime against humanity, if aimed at a particular group.
The Criminal Code of Canada uses the following definition:
“crime against humanity” means murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, persecution or any other inhumane act or omission that is committed against any civilian population or any identifiable group of persons, whether or not it constitutes a contravention of the law in force at the time and in the place of its commission, and that, at that time and in that place, constitutes a contravention of customary international law or conventional international law or is criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations
Personally I’m not to worried about Canadians coming down to the US and murdering. Either last year or the year before Texas executed a Canadian who murdered one or more persons down here. Madeline Albright asked us to stay the execution but it didn’t happen.
Thanks jti, couldn’t remember the name,Ira Einhorn.
Both you and Ptahlis are correct, the trial in absentia was a major point in France’s refusal to extradite Einhorn. The second point was that the prosecutor intended to seach the death penalty and the State of Penn had to agree to both conditions to get him back.
There was another case, yeah great cite I know, involving Indonesia and California. Indonesia wouldn’t extradite the suspect, wanted for murder in CA but would apply CA law in an Indonesia court. So CA sent prosecutors and the evidence to Indonesia. The Indonesia court ended up finding the suspect guilty and sentenced him to death there. Kind of a “he’s ours, so we’ll execute him.”