Posted on 01/30/2008 10:27:49 AM PST by SmithL
Honolulu (AP) -- Duane "Dog" Chapman cannot be extradited to Mexico to face criminal charges in his capture of serial rapist and fugitive Andrew Luster in 2003, a three-judge panel in Mexico has ruled.
The unanimous ruling was handed down Tuesday. The former TV bounty hunter, his son Leland Chapman and associate Tim Chapman faced being sent to the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, where they captured Luster, who had jumped a $1 million bond on charges that he drugged and raped three women.
"He's a free man," Chapman's San Francisco-based attorney, James A. Quadra, said in a telephone interview late Tuesday. "They can't reinstate any criminal charges and as a result of that, there's no basis for them to then seek extradition."
Luster's disappearance during his trial in California set off an international manhunt by police, FBI and bounty hunters trying to recoup some of the bond money. After his capture, he was taken back to the U.S. to serve a 124-year prison sentence.
Because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, prosecutors in that country charged the trio with kidnapping and asked U.S. authorities to arrest Chapman and his colleagues and send them to Mexico.
"The three of them — Duane, Leland and Tim — have always been absolutely certain they did the right thing and proud of what they accomplished," Quadra said.
A judge in Mexico dismissed the kidnapping charges in July, ruling prosecutors had taken too long in their attempts to bring the trio to trial. But Mexican prosecutors appealed the ruling.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Go DOG!!!!!!!!!!!............
Nothing that a little grease on the palms can’t fix.
Now he is free to drop all the N-Bombs he wants.
Dog did the world a favor tracking down that POS Andrew Luster, who, although in prison for a minimum of the next 104 years, has his own website. Some background: Luster was convicted of 20 counts of drug-induced rape, 17 counts of raping an unconscious victim, and multiple counts of sodomy and oral copulation by use of drugs. Luster was sentenced to six years for each of the 20 counts of rape (to be served consecutively) and another four years for poisoning, for a total of 124 years in prison. Luster was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine. The California Court of Appeal refused the appeal his attorneys filed on his behalf, ruling that as a fugitive from justice, Luster had forfeited his right to appeal. The California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court later refused to overturn this ruling. Luster is currently serving his prison sentence in Mule Creek State Prison in California. Two of the victims won civil lawsuits against Luster, who was ordered to pay a total of $39 million. The women’s attorneys have been busy ever since trying to untangle the Luster/Factor family investments. Luster subsequently sold most of his property and declared bankruptcy. It remains unclear how much the victims will actually receive — A CHEATER TO THE BITTER END.
"The three of them — Duane, Leland and Tim — have always been absolutely certain they did the right thing"
Luster deserves to be in jail. But breaking the laws of a neighboring country is never the 'tight thing".
Mexico - The anus of the world.
Maybe the Bush justice dept. will trump up some civil rights violation charges against them.
Full of dingleberries
Reno 9-11 had a Dog like character on last weeks episode.
Good, now send him down to get that other “alleged” rapist and or murderer. That way, the mexis can’t get their undies in a bunch over whether or not we wish to extradite an individual for prosecution in a capital case!!!
So smuggling Jews out of Nazi Germany would have been morally wrong? How about helping Cubans escape to America? Most statements with "always" and "never" are wrong.
It is 'always' wrong for immigrants to enter this country ILLEGALLY.
It is 'never' right for immigrants to enter this country ILLEGALLY.
Rule of law has meaning to most Americans...though it's clear it has perceived exceptions to a selected few.
Well, here’s a hypothetical. Suppose you are a Chinese woman, and you find out you are pregneant with a second child. You know if you stay in China you will be forced to have an abortion. You also know someone who can smuggle you into the USA. Is it morally wrong for you to go?
That’s not to say that US law should not be enforced, but we are talking what is morally right for the individual, not for the society at large. Also moral choices muat take the alternative into consideration.
I wasn’t talking about morality. I was talking about legality. We could go through a myriad of similar scenarios and debate the moral questions that arise. But doing so would not mitigate the fact that rule of law must prevail. Unless you’re a liberal, of course.
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