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Authorities often refuse to extradite fugitives
Mar. 3, 2008
Joe Mahr - St. Louis Post-DispatchIssue date: 2/28/08 Section: MCT News
CLEVELAND _ Halfway up a gentle slope in Sunset Memorial Park, a heart-shaped wreath of red and white carnations stands over a grave marker etched with Badge No. 545. Cathy Clark and Pat McLaughlin sit on either side, absently plucking blades of grass as they recall the life of the man they loved, and their bitterness over his death. The man who wore badge 545 _ Clark's husband, McLaughlin's son _ was gunned down by a fugitive from Florida who was wanted for assault and robbery.
A fugitive who, hours earlier, had been in jail in Ohio.
A fugitive who had to be let go, because Florida wouldn't pick him up.
"They should have extradited _ there was no excuse," said McLaughlin, on the ninth anniversary of the death of police Detective Robert Clark.
Cathy Clark added: "It's just hard to understand. _ You get really disillusioned the more you learn."
A Post-Dispatch investigation found that authorities have long refused to pick up fugitives who have fled.
Even when their warrants are put into national databases and even when police locate them elsewhere, fugitives regularly don't face justice.
Law enforcement officials across the nation acknowledge that their inability or unwillingness to extradite merely shifts the danger to another community.
"It's a joke really," said Oregon prosecutor Ed Caleb. "And the joke's unfortunately on all of us, because these guys know they can just take off."
The unwillingness to retrieve fugitives long has been common knowledge in law enforcement.
Cases that make headlines often result in extradition, but other cases never make the cut.
Most law enforcement data on fugitives is kept secret by state and federal laws and policies. So the best glimpse of the problem comes from information kept by two federal agencies that provided data: the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs.
Under orders by Congress, both agencies match their recipient rolls against databases of fugitives wanted on felonies and pass the names and addresses to police.
A fugitive who, hours earlier, had been in jail in Ohio.
A fugitive who had to be let go, because Florida wouldn't pick him up.
"They should have extradited _ there was no excuse," said McLaughlin, on the ninth anniversary of the death of police Detective Robert Clark.
Cathy Clark added: "It's just hard to understand. _ You get really disillusioned the more you learn."
A Post-Dispatch investigation found that authorities have long refused to pick up fugitives who have fled.
Even when their warrants are put into national databases and even when police locate them elsewhere, fugitives regularly don't face justice.
Law enforcement officials across the nation acknowledge that their inability or unwillingness to extradite merely shifts the danger to another community.
"It's a joke really," said Oregon prosecutor Ed Caleb. "And the joke's unfortunately on all of us, because these guys know they can just take off."
The unwillingness to retrieve fugitives long has been common knowledge in law enforcement.
Cases that make headlines often result in extradition, but other cases never make the cut.
Most law enforcement data on fugitives is kept secret by state and federal laws and policies. So the best glimpse of the problem comes from information kept by two federal agencies that provided data: the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs.
Under orders by Congress, both agencies match their recipient rolls against databases of fugitives wanted on felonies and pass the names and addresses to police.
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