George Putnam
Friday, July 26, 2002

It is this reporter's opinion that President George W. Bush has a golden opportunity to deal with his friend Mexican President Vicente Fox in a cross-border crime situation.

On April 29, 2002, Sheriff David March was on routine patrol in Irwindale, Calif., when he made a traffic stop. The occupant of the car, Armando Garcia, a Mexican illegally in the U.S., shot and killed the sheriff without provocation. Garcia then fled across the border into Mexico.

Soon it came to light that Garcia was wanted on two previous charges of attempted murder and that 60 other similar cases existed in Los Angeles County.

California sought extradition of Garcia. It was refused. Mexico responded that it does not believe in the death penalty or life imprisonment and therefore would not cooperate in returning Garcia to the United States.

California State Assemblyman Keith Richmond has put forth Assembly Joint Resolution 51 calling upon President Bush to appeal to his friend Vicente Fox to bring about extradition proceedings, but the motion was turned down by an ultra-liberal element in the California State Assembly.

Law enforcement is up in arms. They call attention to the fact that Mexico's National Human Rights Commission is urging the state of Texas to grant clemency to a Mexican convicted of murder and sentenced to die next month. Javier Suarez Medina is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Aug. 14 for the 1988 murder of a Dallas police officer.

The Suarez case is similar to that of Mexican national Gerardo Valdez, whose death sentence for a murder conviction was commuted in May by an Oklahoma court. As a matter of fact, President Vicente Fox personally appealed to Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating to overturn Valdez's death sentence on a technicality.

There are 54 Mexican citizens currently on death row in the United States. There are countless cross-border murders between Mexico and the U.S. and they remain beyond resolution. It's time for the president of the United States and the president of Mexico to resolve this tragic situation. We know where Armando Garcia is hiding out in Mexico. It's time to go get him.

Certainly Sheriff March's widow, Teri, deserves at least closure to her grief. President Bush, the ball is STILL in your court.

The legendary George Putnam is 88 years young and a veteran of 68 years as a reporter, broadcaster and commentator ... and is still going strong. George is part of the all-star line-up of Southern California's KPLS Radio – Hot Talk AM 830.

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