Documents shed light on killing of Marine

Mexico routinely returns fugitives to the U.S. to face justice. But under a 1978 treaty with the U.S., Mexico, which has no death penalty, will not extradite anyone facing possible execution. To get their hands on a fugitive, U.S. prosecutors must agree to seek no more than life in prison.

Other countries, including France and Canada, also demand such "death assurances." But the problem is more common with Mexico.

"If you can get to Mexico — if you have the means — it's a way of escaping the death penalty," said Issac Unah, a University of North Carolina political science professor.

The Justice Department said death assurances from foreign countries are fairly common, but it had no immediate numbers. State Department officials said Mexico extradited 73 suspects to the U.S. in 2007. Most were wanted on drug or murder charges.

Lolita Parkinson, a spokeswoman for the Mexican Consulate in Houston, said Mexico opposes capital punishment on human rights grounds and has a particular obligation to protect the rights of people of Mexican descent who face prosecution in the U.S.

The U.S. government typically pays more attention to those entering the country from Mexico than it does to those trying to leave the U.S. But Texas authorities have begun making checks of vehicles and drivers heading south on the 25 international bridges that connect the state to Mexico.

The initiative, announced in October, was originally intended to catch drug smugglers taking cash or stolen cars into Mexico, but "we would hope it would be a deterrent for fugitives" as well, said Allison Castle, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.

Officials work together in Marine case
In the North Carolina case, local authorities and the FBI are working with Mexican law enforcement to hunt down Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, a 21-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Mexico. He is accused of killing 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in mid-December, months after she accused him of rape.

Wanted posters and information on Laurean have been distributed to the Mexican media.

Also recently, prosecutors in Dallas pledged not to seek the death penalty if Mexico extradites Ernesto Reyes, a man accused of killing and burning the body of a University of North Texas student last year. That extradition request is still pending.

Last March, Teri March, the widow of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was killed during a traffic stop in 2002, lashed out at Mexico's justice system as Jorge Arroyo Garcia was sentenced to life in prison in California after hiding out in Mexico.

"Garcia hid and hid behind a system that was very broken," she said.

Lotstein, the prosecutor's assistant in Phoenix, said the county has agreed to drop the death penalty in a number of cases: "The option we have is absolutely no justice, or partial justice."

kids jewelery

The CPSC works with companies to issue recalls when it finds consumer goods that can be harmful. Most such recalls are voluntary. Under current regulations, children's products found to have more than .06% lead are usually subject to a recall, in which the company must reimburse consumers for the value of the product, provide a replacement or offer a repair.

In March 2006 a Minnesota boy died of lead poisoning after swallowing a metal pendant from a charm bracelet that came with a pair of Reebok shoes. That incident resulted in a recall.

In December of last year the CPSC voted unanimously to move forward in a process that could ultimately lead to a ban on children's jewelry containing more than .06% lead by weight. The commission is hoping to move to the next stage of enacting the ban before then end of January 2008.

On Wednesday, Wolfson said: "Parents should be very cautious during this holiday season when shopping for children's jewelry."

Other regional retailers who reached agreements with Cuomo's office to discontinue sales of affected products include Pure Allure of Oceanside, Calif., and Buckwholesale.com, of Tucker, Ga., Dollar Days International of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Describing the enforcement action further, Cuomo said several companies will pay fines.

"My office has undertaken an ongoing and extensive investigation into lead levels in children's jewelry, and taken swift, enforceable action to remove contaminated products from stores," he said.

Cuomo commended Michaels Stores and Big Lots for acting quickly and "agreeing to safeguards against lead contamination."

"It was blown a little bit out of proportion," said Keith Flike, president of Yankee One Dollar, one of the regional retailers that settled with Cuomo. "It wasn't a practice, it was a mistake that slipped through our vendor."

A few hundred items were sold, he said, and the remaining three dozen bracelets for children or adults were immediately removed from Yankee's stores in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts. Flike said he agreed to sign the agreement not to sell items with unsafe levels of lead because that's been the company policy.

In a statement, Michaels said it removed all Pure Allure products suspected of lead contamination from its store shelves when it learned about Cuomo's investigation. The company added that it conducts routine checks with vendors and its own independent testing.

Cuomo said that some of the 35 products his office investigated contained as much as 1,000 times the federal safety standard. Most of the jewelry was made in China, some was from Thailand and India, and some had no clear record of where the items were manufactured, said John Milgrim, a spokesman for the attorney general.

Big Lots, which agreed to pay a $1,000 penalty under the settlement, has 1,300 discount stores nationwide selling a variety of goods from toys and clothing to furniture. The privately -held Michaels does not have to pay a penalty, officials said. Michaels is the nation's largest arts and crafts retailer and has more than 950 stores in the United States and Canada. It also operates specialty stores under the names Aaron Brothers, Recollections, Star Decorators Wholesale and Artistree manufacturing facility.

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