SEATTLE (WA)
Kentucky.com
BY NANCY BARTLEY
The Seattle Times
SEATTLE - When Ireland's High Court weighs whether to allow the extradition of fugitive Fred Russell to stand trial for a 2001 crash that killed three Washington State University students, the decision could hinge on how the court views the U.S. criminal-justice system.
Some past extradition requests have been turned down by Irish authorities because of concerns over how prisoners were treated in the United States, or the length of time a defendant would be held in a U.S. jail before going to trial.
In July, one request was turned down because an Irish judge saw a news photo of Arizona inmates being paraded through town in pink, prison-issue underwear. The shocked judge called the act degrading and humiliating and turned down the extradition request. The defendant was released.
Other extradition attempts have been turned down because what's regarded as a crime in the United States is not considered a crime or an extraditable offense in Ireland - bail-jumping, for example, is not a crime there, said Whitman County, Wash., Chief Deputy Prosecutor Carol LaVerne.