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U.S.
Senator Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs
Committees |
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For Immediate
Release June 7, 2005 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Press Secretary 202-228-3630 Jen Clanahan – Deputy Press Secretary 303-455-7600 |
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| SEN. SALAZAR
URGES ACTION ON ALLEGED DENVER COP KILLER
Included below is a letter Senator Salazar sent to both Attorneys General following-up on their conversations.
June 7, 2005
Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Honorable Daniel Cabeza
de Vaca Dear Generals Gonzales and Cabeza de Vaca: Thank you for speaking with me today about the extradition of Raul Garcia-Gomez back to Colorado for the alleged murder of Denver police officer Donnie Young. I write this letter to (1) thank you for your interest and help to date in this case; (2) thank the United States and Mexican law enforcement officers involved in the pursuit and capture of Garcia-Gomez; (3) reiterate my request that Mexico extradite Garcia-Gomez to the United States for prosecution as soon as possible; and (4) ask your help in removing the legal constraints that would keep a suspected cop-killer like Garcia-Gomez from being extradited back to the United States to face, at a minimum, a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. This crime is a heinous and outrageous murder of a Colorado law enforcement officer. In the early morning hours of May 8, Detective Young was brutally murdered, and another officer wounded, when an assailant approached and shot them from behind while they were working as security guards. Denver police have identified Raul Garcia-Gomez, a 20-year-old native of Durango, Mexico as the prime suspect. After a 27-day manhunt in which police tracked Garcia-Gomez from Denver to Los Angeles and across the border into Mexico, Mexican and American authorities finally apprehended the suspect in Culiacán, Mexico, on the evening of June 4. Given that the crime was committed on the streets of Denver, Colorado, it is of the utmost importance to those of us who serve in the U.S. government and to our law enforcement officials in Colorado to have Mr. Garcia-Gomez extradited to the United States to face criminal charges. I personally believe the death penalty is warranted if the charges against Garcia-Gomez are proven. I understand, however, that Mexican law prohibits the extradition of its citizens where the death penalty is the sentence being sought, or even if life in prison without opportunity for parole is the sentence sought. I believe this is the wrong result. If Garcia-Gomez is found guilty of the cold-blooded murder of Officer Young, Garcia-Gomez should never be allowed to ever again walk the streets of our world as a free man. Yet the legal framework between the United States and Mexico allows for the contrary result. That legal framework should be re-examined. I ask you to help us determine what changes can be made to our bilateral agreements to prevent such an unjust result. I value the work of our law enforcement officers, and had the personal privilege of working with Colorado’s 14,000 peace officers for six years as Colorado’s Attorney General. A few weeks ago I spoke at the Law Enforcement Memorial commemoration where we added the names of two more officers to that memorial listing the names of over 200 law enforcement officers who have been killed in Colorado. For each of them, they died trying to uphold the rule of law and maintain a safe and orderly society. Those who hurt or kill a law enforcement officer should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Thank you in advance for your attention to this important matter.
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