A Texas man accused of killing his pregnant wife fled to Italy weeks before trial. He’s asking a judge not to send him back

The prosecutiom could just rule out the death penalty as part of an extradition deal, not unheard of

More countries than I thought do this. 

The man in the article, Pietro Venezia, was charged with murder for tracking down a tax collector who had frozen his bank accounts and shooting him four times on his doorstep the day before Christmas. Instead of being sent back to the U.S. where he would have faced the death penalty, he was convicted in Italy of the murder and was released after only fifteen years. So, pretty smart bet really.

don't forget, money creates gavitational waves that can bend the laws of... the law.

I remember this from an episode of Law and Order SVU. They ended up extraditing him on a lesser crime. I wonder if that’s an actual thing

None of the EU countries would, death penalty abolition is a prerequisite of joining the EU.

Well a father literally shot and killed his daughter in Texas because they had an argument over Trump and he wasn't even arrested let alone charged. F****** insane stuff. 

If Texas doesn’t file for this double murderer then they are lost cause. Wonder if his dad is rich and republican.

Canada has the same rule.

Italy would probably give him five years for what he did. They are not tough on men who kill their wives.

So, Texas drops the death penalty, extradites him and if found guilty, spends life in a Texas maximum security prison. Google what it's like in one of them.

Texas would be smart to come back with stamped confirmation they won’t pursue it…but hey it’s Texas.

Yknow, as a texan, I feel ok giving the death penalty to him if he killed his pregnant wife.

Well guess this one got away.

Bail inherently punishes the poor.

Yeah it’s nuts. He cut off his ankle monitor and somehow got to Canada before flying to Italy with bogus ID.

Bro posted a millie wtf is this Saul Goodman shit

Solid point you make. Made me actually read the article. > The hearing wasn’t an extradition proceeding; it was to validate Gilley’s arrest per Italian law. The court did so Monday, allowing Italy to keep him in jail until an extradition hearing is requested. They've accepted custody so it's not a denied entry at a point of entry. Or atleast that's what it seems to me just from my limited experience of being denied entry because of criminal charges. Albeit a different country. There were no court room proceedings in my case. Since he's shooting for political asylum, I get the feeling they're going to play it out in their courts as much as they need to. It will probably get fast tracked but that still sounds like it could be a while.

They have extradition hearings for state to state warrants. https://abcnews.com/amp/US/idaho-murders-suspect-bryan-kohberger-set-court-faces/story?id=96015943

It's not delusion. It's actually quite clever.  Italy won't extradite anyone into a potential death penalty. So if Texas wants him back they'll have to drop the penalty he's facing down to life imprisonment. 

He’s scum for sure. This girl went to my college and was a sorority sister of my freshman year roommate. I wasn’t actually friends with her but I remember her because she was always the most generous, kind, smiley and sweet human - and it wasn’t an act. Everyone loved her, for good reason. It’s tragic what she and her family and friends lost at the hands of this monster. Let him rot, wherever he ends up.

Texas could wave DP and Italy would give him back .

Does he get away with it, or do they just punish him under their own laws instead?

Unfortunately as long as state-sponsored murder is also legal in the United States, this is just a shitty outcome that victims of crime here will have to live with. I feel tremendously for the victim and her family.

Well, yes. Know how we could avoid this situation? Not having the death penalty like every other country we claim as our closest allies. 

All Texas has to do is promise death penalty is off the table and he won't be able to get away with anything.

women and children remain unprotected in Texas

He was able to make 1 million dollar bail which means he’s rich. So he had a good lawyer. He was also able to obtain a reasonably good fake passport and documents since he made it to Italy and got passed American airport security which also costs money. Most people accused of murder for various circumstances do not have the wealth to do what he did and there are not enough checks for wealthy people who commit crimes.

Because murder has circumstances. Someone who seems to be randomly or repeatedly violent is unlikely to get bail. A series of deadly robberies for instance. Someone who murders someone they have a specific relationship with is likely to get bail on the grounds that it's extremely unlikely for the circumstances of the murder to repeat. Not all people suspected of murder are reasonably considered a danger to the general public.

The thing is, that's a valid argument in EU courts. The ECHR expressly prohibits it. The state of Texas would have to guarantee that they would *not* execute him, and then hold up that part of the bargain. If they didn't, Italy becomes a refuge for criminals in Texas because they'd be like "No, you went back on your word in the Gilley case. Asylum granted."

I don’t really think being found guilty is anything to be excited about.

It's in the first sentence of the article

So, Innocent Texas man flees to Italy after not killing his wife. Asks not to be sent back to Texas to stand trial.... to prove his innocence... Wait no. Umm, face trial due to death penalty.

Curious how they know this if there’s no trial after they’re dead?

I used to feel the same way. I felt like the government should never be able to kill their citizens. Then I saw the news recently of the delivery guy who kidnapped a young girl from her own driveway and murdered her in the back of his van. It was all recorded on video (either with picture or sound). The only way I approve of it is with indisputable proof. 

That is an issue of corruption in the US judicial system. Judges are so far up cops and prosecutors asses people get sentences while the prosecutors refuse to let dna evidence be examined that could exonerate the accused. The judges allow the persecution to block the defense's move to examine it. This is an issue with the US, not capital punishment. Whether you disagree with capital punishment is a question of morality, not and objective reality that is always true. The US is corrupt. I will concede, it is cruel to hold them captive for years before execution, but the US prison system has always been about profiting from what is essentially slave labor.