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Thursday, August 06, 2009
Ind. Courts - "Dvorak explains delay in South Bend arson/murder case"
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak explains the ins and outs of extradition in this story today by Jeff Parrott in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:
Typically when a suspect flees the state and is captured elsewhere, he signs a document waiving extradition proceedings back to the state where he is wanted.That means he won't fight a prosecutor's assertion that he is wanted in connection with the warrant.
But so far, Douglas Grant Jr. is refusing to do that from his jail cell in Benton County, Wash.
Still, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak said he is confident that Grant, a homeless man charged in a July 6 arson that killed 92-year-old Thula Ullrey in South Bend, will be back in his jurisdiction soon to face charges of felony murder, arson and six counts of attempted murder.
When a suspect fights extradition, the charging prosecutor must send an application seeking extradition to the Indiana attorney general, who reviews it and forwards it to the Indiana governor, Dvorak said. The Indiana governor then sends it to the governor in the state that's holding the fugitive, and if a judge ultimately decides that the suspect is the same person as the sought fugitive, he is sent back to the initial charging state.
The process has nothing to do with the suspect's guilt in the alleged crime, Dvorak noted. It's simply about proving that the person being held is the same as the individual who is wanted on the warrant.
Dvorak said his office sent the extradition papers to the Indiana attorney general on July 30. The documents included Grant's fingerprints, photographs and personal information.
A Benton County (Wash.) judge last week set Grant's bail at $5 million. But at a hearing there Wednesday, the judge went further, revoking bail completely upon a request from Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Johnson, Johnson said. * * *
Dvorak said most fugitives waive extradition because they know it's only a matter of time before prosecutors establish their identity. So why fight it?
"If the prosecutor in the state that filed charges doesn't go through the trouble of filing papers for extradition (within 60 days under Washington statute), they have to let you go," Dvorak said. "Why do you buy a lottery ticket?"
Once extradition is granted, the cost of transporting Grant back to Indiana will fall on the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department budget, Dvorak said. He did not know how much that will cost.
A contracted prisoner transportation firm likely will drive Grant back to Indiana in a bus containing fugitives from other states, he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 6, 2009 12:55 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts