Jamaican Teenager to Be Extradited for Alleged Triple Murder in Central Florida
At Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer, we are pleased to announce that we offer extradition defense services for people fighting extradition to or from Florida from another jurisdiction. Extradition is the legal term for transferring people accused of crimes from the place where they were taken into custody to the place where they face the charges. Extradition can be between states or between the United States and another country. BGL&S handles both domestic and international extradition, both to and from Florida. Depending on the facts of the case, our Miami extradition defense attorneys can raise multiple powerful defenses to extradition.
One of the most common defenses to international extradition was raised in the extradition of a Jamaican accused of murder here in Florida. According to a Sept. 9 article on RadioJamaica.com, prosecutors in Central Florida have been seeking the extradition of Davion Parson, 19, from Jamaica for months. Parson is accused of the shooting deaths of Antone Neely, Michael Rattigan and Kevin Webster outside a bar in Tampa. The article said Parson was captured in Kingston in late 2008, but because prosecutors in Florida planned to seek the death penalty, Jamaican authorities refused to turn him over. It was only after U.S. prosecutors changed their minds and agreed not to seek the death penalty that a Jamaican court authorized the extradition.
Many countries that object to capital punishment will not extradite their citizens to the U.S. if they face the death penalty here. Other objectionable punishments, such as torture, may be a valid defense to extradition from the U.S. to other nations. International extraditions are governed by treaty, so each nation may make its own rules about defenses to extradition. Other defenses our Fort Myers extradition criminal defense lawyers can raise in international cases include:
- Mistaken identity
- Double jeopardy -- the accused cannot be prosecuted for the same crime in two different countries
- The alleged crime is not a crime in both countries
- Lack of strong evidence that the accused committed the crime
- The prosecution is politically motivated
In the United States, defendants are legally entitled to a fair hearing where they can raise these and other objections to the extradition. BGL&S aggressively represents clients at these hearings, often in cooperation with attorneys in the other jurisdiction. Even if you would rather not fight the extradition, we can help you get the best possible deal from prosecutors, including a probation sentence that allows you to stay near your job and your family. All of our West Palm Beach extradition criminal defense attorneys are former prosecutors or public defenders, so we have gone to court for our clients literally hundreds of times; we are not afraid of trials. And because we understand that criminal charges happen at all times, not just during business hours, we make ourselves reachable at literally all times -- 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
If you or a loved one is facing an extradition to or from Florida and you’d like to fight it, don’t wait to talk to the experienced criminal defense attorneys at BGL&S. For a free, confidential consultation, please contact us anytime through our Web site or call 1-866-ARRESTED from anywhere within Florida.
