Bill to Pull Aid from Mexico If No Death Penalty Extraditions

Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.) and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) have proposed legislation to stop supplying $66 million in aid to Mexico if the country refuses to extradite cop killers who could receive sentences of death or life without parole.

The bill would cut off U.S. aid to any country that fails to follow the terms of its extradition treaties in cases involving suspects accused of killing federal, state, or local law enforcement officers.

Inspired by the May 8th murder of Denver Police Detective Donald Young, the proposed legislation would seek to end the need for such bargaining currently occurring between the Mexican government and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey over the charges against Raul Gomez-Garcia, the suspect in Young’s murder case.

Garcia is currently being held in a Mexico City jail. For the Mexican government to agree to the man’s extradition, Morrisey had to drop a first-degree murder charge and settle for charging him with second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, which could carry a sentence of 96 years in prison with a possibility for parole after 72 years.

Carlos de Icaza, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, has said the Mexican government plans to decide its stance on extradition in one to three years.