The Death Penalty and the Extradition of Terrorists

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The Death Penalty and the Extradition of Terrorists

Should terrorists be extradited to face capital punishment in the country a crime was perpetrated in? This question has been frequently repeated, especially after the events of September eleventh.

Everyone seems to have a different opinion as to whether or not the death penalty is a viable punishment. There are also exhaustive discussions regarding who should judge the proceedings. I believe that if an offender commits a crime in a foreign land, and is apprehended, then they should be charged in and be subject to the laws of that country. If it is expected that we respect the customs of a particular country, why should abiding by the laws be any different?

The events of September eleventh 2001 became an excellent example of the conflicted opinions that the countries from which the offenders came from had. The hijackers who commandeered the planes were from a different country with very different rules and mores. When these hijackers decided to fly into the World Trade Centers and The Pentagon and potentially kill thousands of people, it would be understood that had they survived, they would be tried on American soil under American laws. Logically, the co-conspirators of the attacks as well as the heads of the organizations which supported them should be subjected to the same responses.

In the article titled “Ashcroft soothes Europe’s Death Penalty Objections,” Lofti Raissi and Zacarias Moussaoui discuss other countries concerns as to whether or not their citizens will face the death penalty. Reporters asked Ashcroft whether he was willing to give a guarantee that terrorist suspects who were extradited to the U.S. would not face capital punishment, but he concluded that it is a case-by-case decision. The article further states that European countries have abolished the death penalty and will not extradite suspects who face the death penalty in another country (Johnson 1). I believe it is every country’s right to vote and draft a law deciding whether of not it should allow the death penalty, but if one decides that they are going to commit a crime in a country which allows the death penalty, they should recognize that they must face the consequences.

Two foreigners who are going through similar proceedings are described in the article. They are Zacarias Moussaoui and Lotfi Raissi. Zacarias is a French citizen who was arrested in the United States and was the first person charged for involvement in the nine-eleven attacks (Johnson 1).

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