The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that four con artists can’t be extradited to the U.S. to face charges because the prosecutors in the case, who have wide discretion over sentences and terms, have threatened to see to it that the malfeasants are sodomized in prison. They can do this because “get tough” U.S. crime laws give them considerable discretion over which charges, exactly, will be laid, how long the prison terms will be, and where the terms will be served.
My friends, the United States is a backwater, sometimes, of spiteful hicks and idiots.
What happened? What made these guardians of public morality so damn mad?
Well, these guys simply decided to fight extradition. The prosecutors (shall we have the evidence now, or after sentencing, your honor?) were hopping mad. How dare you exercise your legal rights! They made threats, including the afore-mentioned sodomization.
Well, it cost them. The four were sure to be extradited until the Supreme Court of Canada got wind of the threats, which, in it’s honorable opinion, amounted to a kind of extortion. The suspects were being asked to give up their constitutional rights, now, this minute, or else face cruel and unusual punishment.
The Supreme Court of Canada, bless their hearts, ruled unanimously that the men don’t have to face that kind of U.S. justice. It’s a start. I’d be quite happy if they would make a blanket ruling that Canada, as a civilized country, never sends anyone to be tried for any crime in the U.S.