Legal Commentary

DEA Press Release Celebrates Killing of Suspect

By Jeralyn

If this press release wasn't on the DEA's website, I'd think it was a hoax. Incredibly, it celebrates the killing of a suspect.

Justice is done when a suspect is brought before a court and tried, not when he's murdered before his guilt has been determined. Yet, DEA Director Michelle M. Leonhart writes:

“President Calderon of Mexico scored a major victory against the Arturo Beltran-Leyva drug cartel. Last August when DEA, along with our U.S. law enforcement partners, announced the indictment of Mexican drug kingpin Arturo Beltran-Leyva, we were confident that our Mexican counterparts would work with us to pursue him and hold him accountable for his horrific crimes. And last night they did.”

Some background: Alleged Mexican cartel leader Arturo Beltran-Leyva was shot and killed by the Mexican military last Wednesday. He was under indictment in the U.S. (available here), As Leonhart writes:

...[W]hen the Mexican Navy closed in on Beltran-Leyva’s apartment complex, a sustained firefight ensued and Arturo Beltran-Leyva was killed, along with several of his bodyguards.”

As for the future, it looks like we can expect more of the same: Forget the trial, just shoot the perp on sight. Leonhart continues: [More...]

[T]his operation is a model of our commitment to continue working in close cooperation with our Mexican partners to disrupt and dismantle all of the Mexican cartels.”

Success would be if Beltran-Leyva was arrested, extradited, provided a lawyer and had his guilt or innocence determined by a jury. If convicted, a judge should be the one to determine his sentence. Vigilante justice is no justice at all. Death by firing squad before trial, which is essentially what happened to Beltran-Leyva, is neither a win nor a success. It's morally bankrupt.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on December 22, 2009 (boomark / email).