Mexico won’t extradite killer of American policeman if he will face death penalty

Sue Lindsay:

Mexican authorities will not return Raul Garcia-Gomez to the United States unless prosecutors agree to spare him from execution and life without parole, the Mexican consul in Denver said Monday.

Juan Marcos Gutierrez-Gonzalez, consul general of Mexico in Denver, stressed the cooperation between Mexican and U.S. authorities that resulted in Garcia-Gomez's arrest Saturday night.

"We are now having one of the best moments of Colorado-Mexico relations," he said.

But the consul said recent court rulings in his country prevent the extradition of suspects facing either of the United States' harshest penalties.

A longstanding treaty between the U.S. and Mexico specifically bars extradition in death penalty cases. Mexico's highest court recently expanded the limits, rejecting extradition for cases in which life without parole was a possibility, Gutierrez-Gonzalez said.

The maximum allowable sentence for murder under Mexican law is 60 years.

Mexico's policies regarding the return of citizens suspected of committing crimes on U.S. soil took center stage with Garcia-Gomez's capture in the city of Culiacán.

The 20-year-old fugitive is accused of killing Detective Donald Young and wounding his partner, Detective John Bishop, as the two officers worked off-duty at a baptism party in Denver on May 8.

He is being held at the "South Preventive Male Facility," a jail in Mexico City, the consul said. Prosecutors have 60 days to file a formal extradition petition through diplomatic channels.

Officials with the Denver District Attorney's office acknowledged Monday that they have launched conversations with Mexican officials, knowing they will have to concede both sentencing options.

"I think we've all come to understand that," spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said. "We're going forward seeking extradition with those limitations in mind, aware that is the law in Mexico."

It is unclear, however, what charge Garcia- Gomez would face.

Under Colorado law, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison without parole.

Garcia-Gomez is being held on charges filed May 16 by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, but the complaint is sealed. The office is considering whether the case should go to a Denver grand jury for indictment, Kimbrough said.

Young's family and Bishop have been informed of the extradition process, including the options and limitations of the law.

Denver police said Monday they simply want Garcia-Gomez to stand trial and, if convicted, to be punished.

"Of course we wish we could have the death penalty or life without parole. But under the treaty that is in place, we understand that is not possible," said Denver police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez.

"The fact that he is incarcerated and will be facing charges is enough for us."

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., is calling upon Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to intervene directly to expedite the extradition process.

"The murder of Detective Young has touched many Coloradans who respect and appreciate the service performed by law enforcement officers," Allard wrote in a letter to Rice that was released Monday. "Many of my constituents view this extradition case as a test of our nation's ability to hold accountable illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the United States."

Garcia-Gomez is a Mexican citizen who was working illegally in the U.S. It is unclear how long the process to return him will take.

In Mexico City on Monday, opinions were mixed about the Garcia-Gomez case.

Federico Estevez, a Mexico City political scientist, said he believed extradition was unlikely.

"Unless it's a high-profile drug trafficking case, the machinery is still very slow in Mexico," Estevez said.

In Mexico, the only time the death penalty could be used was for treason, he said, and legislation is being introduced to "take that off the books."

"It's very easy for Mexican judges and lawyers to argue against extradition if it implies a Mexican national will be vulnerable to a trial in which the death penalty is a possibility in a guilty verdict," he said.

"Mexicans believe proven criminals shouldn't be put to death. It plays to domestic audiences very well. This is old routine in Mexican politics."

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