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February 10, 2006 By Jennifer Kavanaugh / Daily News Staff Fighting extradition would be costly for Entwistle Murder suspect Neil Entwistle could face a drawn-out legal process in the months and years to come, whether he stays in England or returns to the United States. At the request of U.S. authorities, British police arrested Entwistle yesterday at a London subway station on charges he murdered his wife Rachel and daughter Lillian, and on illegal firearm and ammunition possession charges. Yesterday in a London court, Entwistle said he wouldn't voluntarily return to the United States. Entwistle may not have volunteered to return to the U.S. yesterday, but fighting extradition to the end would force him to make that decision several more times throughout the process, said Douglas McNabb, a Washington, D.C.-based expert on extradition cases. "It could take several months, certainly, if not years," McNabb said. It would also cost Entwistle a great deal of money to exhaust extradition appeals, he said. "We're talking probably several hundreds of thousands of dollars." Whether Entwistle would want to or could raise that kind of money remains to be seen. But he apparently does not come from a wealthy family, and Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley yesterday said he experienced a series of financial setbacks.Entwistle's introduction to international legal proceedings began yesterday morning, when police arrested him. In a press conference yesterday, Coakley said investigators had to go through several steps in both countries even to get the arrest in England: Framingham District Court, the U.S. Department of Justice, diplomatic channels and Scotland Yard. If Entwistle decided not to fight extradition, McNabb said, he could be back here as quickly as authorities could arrange the plane trip. But if he again refuses to return voluntarily, and U.S. authorities pursue the matter, an extradition judge makes a recommendation to the British home secretary, McNabb said. The home secretary has up to 60 days to decide. If the home secretary supports extradition, the defendant can appeal to the U.K. High Court, and then to the House of Lords. If all else fails, a defendant can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in France, McNabb said. It could take a defendant a year even to get through the British process, and the human rights court has a backlog of two to three years, he said. A relatively new law, the Extradition Act of 2003, made it easier for British authorities to send suspects to the United States, without American authorities needing to show probable cause. Despite the high emotions of the case, and the trans-Atlantic media frenzy surrounding it, McNabb said he would expect British authorities to make by-the-books decisions on the matter, relying on the 2003 law and the extradition agreements it already had with the United States. "This is not a case where politics would play into it," McNabb said. "I don't see that at all." The fact Massachusetts does not have the death penalty also could speed along a decision to send Entwistle back to the United States, McNabb said. Death-penalty states have a more difficult time getting suspects out of countries where opposition to executions runs strong. "It would complicate things," McNabb said. "It would be a very big deal." If Entwistle returns to the United States, he could face a lengthy process where the right to a speedy trial can still mean cases take many months or years to conclude. While here, the British national would have access to the services of the British Consulate-General in Cambridge, said Terri Evans, the consulate's press and public affairs officer. "We have a responsibility to British citizens who are charged with any sort of crime to make sure they have access to (legal) counsel and consular assistance if they request it," Evans said. On its Web site, the consulate said it will help British nationals entangled in foreign court systems, by providing them with information about lawyers and local laws, helping defendants get representation and medical care, and responding to any alleged human rights abuses or forms of unfair treatment. The consulate said it does not, however, try to get people out of jail, secure more favorable treatment, investigate the crime in question or give or pay for legal advice. But while the Americans and Brits have voiced opinions on the case in many public settings over the past few weeks, they have not chosen the consulate as a forum for their views, Evans said. "I think to some degree now with the Internet, people tend to find different ways of sounding off," Evans said. "We haven't had a flood of calls." | |