 |
|
|
 Editorials | February 2006 
Justice, Finally!
 dailynews.com
| | Armando Garcia |
For the past four years, as U.S. and Mexican officials have wrangled over immigration policy, there has been a huge, nagging obstacle: Armando Garcia.
Garcia is the Mexican national and illegal immigrant who is accused of killing L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy David March during a traffic stop in 2002. He fled south of the border, then lived with virtual impunity because of an outrageous Mexican policy of refusing to extradite fugitives who faced either the death penalty or life in prison.
But Garcia's luck has finally run out.
First, in November, the Mexican Supreme Court reversed its policy, agreeing to extradite suspected criminals facing life in prison.
Then, on Thursday, a joint team of Mexican federales and U.S. marshals nabbed Garcia outside his uncle's home in Jalisco state.
Now Garcia awaits extradition to the U.S., and the justice he has for too long avoided. At long last, some measure of relief has come to Deputy March's family. And Americans and Mexicans alike need no longer worry that a murder suspect is at large.
Garcia's capture and eventual extradition should also mark a significant step forward in U.S.-Mexican relations. His freedom - in stark contrast to March's death - was the single most glaring example of Mexico's refusal to cooperate with American law enforcement.
But between the Mexican Supreme Court's reversal last year and now Garcia's capture, it appears that that era is coming to an end. With Mexico acting more like an ally and less like an antagonist, perhaps the door has been opened to better relations with the U.S., including a rationalization of border policies.
True, Mexico still refuses to extradite those facing capital punishment, and for that reason L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley will not be seeking the death penalty in this case. But given that California currently has a de facto moratorium on executions - and that condemned criminals typically wait 16 years before facing execution anyway - that hardly seems to make much of a difference.
What matters most is that Garcia is no longer a free man, and that, if found guilty, he will rightly spend his life behind bars. Thanks to Mexico's overdue but welcome cooperation, justice for David March and his family will no longer be denied. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us