Canada to deport Chinese fugitive Lai Changxing

A Canadian court has cleared the way for one of China's most-wanted fugitives to be deported back to his home country after a long legal battle.

Lawyers for Lai Changxing, who is accused in China over a multi-billion dollar smuggling operation, say he

fears execution if he is sent back.

Mr Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999, but he was denied asylum and has fought to stay ever since.

China says he will have a fair trial and will not receive the death penalty.

Canada, which does not practice capital punishment, forbids the extradition of prisoners to countries where they may be executed.

Correspondents say the case has soured diplomatic relations between the two countries.

'Clear stance'

"The life of the applicant is in the Chinese Government's hands," the court ruled, citing a Chinese proverb.

Mr Lai's lawyers have not yet said if they plan to appeal against the decision.

Canadian officials say Mr Lai could be deported as early as Saturday.

China accuses Mr Lai of running a huge smuggling operation in Fujian province in the 1990s. They say he dealt in goods including cigarettes, cars, heating and cooking oil, textiles, chemicals and other goods.

China's foreign ministry released a statement welcoming the court's decision.

"Lai Changxing has been wanted by the Chinese judiciary as a prime suspect in a Xiamen smuggling case and fled after the incident to Canada for many years," said Foreign Ministry Ma Zhaoxu in a statement.

"The Chinese government's stance on Lai Changxing returning to China to stand trial is clear. We welcome the Canadian court's decision."

Lawyers for Mr Lai say at least seven of his associates have died or disappeared in China's justice system.

They argue that Mr Lai would face torture and execution in China as a scapegoat for high-level officials who were involved in corrupt practices - an allegation China denies.

Closing arguments to begin in Casey Anthony trial(Video)

Closing arguments are expected to begin Sunday in the Florida murder trial of Casey Anthony, the woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Prosecutors contended at trial that Anthony killed her daughter in June 2008 by covering the child's mouth with duct tape. Prosecutors told jurors the woman dumped the girl's body in woods near her parents' home and then resumed her life of partying and shopping.

Defense attorneys, without offering firm proof of how Caylee died, countered at trial that the toddler accidently drowned in the family swimming pool.
A medical examiner never determined precisely how Caylee died.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge.

Anthony trial enters 30th day

The trial of a Florida mother charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter resumes in an Orlando courtroom, a day after her attorneys sought a mistrial and a judge ruled that she was competent to continue the trial.
Testimony resumes Tuesday morning, a day after Casey Anthony's attorneys asked the judge to select a new jury. The attorneys sought the mistrial based on a ruling by a federal judge in Miami last week. It declared Florida's death penalty unconstitutional.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted of that charge.
The trial judge ruled Anthony is competent after her attorneys asked that she get a mental evaluation.

Illinois Has Abolished the Death Penalty!

Today, with the signature of Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the death penalty, and the third state to do it in four years. The Governor also commuted the sentences of the 15 men currently residing on Illinois’ death row. 

In addition to Governor Quinn, State Senator Kwame Raoul and State Representative Karen Yarbrough were key players in making death penalty abolition a reality in Illinois. Please take a moment to thank them for their leadership.

No state has made a greater effort to “fix” their broken death penalty than Illinois. A ten year moratorium on executions was established in January 2000, and since then various commissions and studies have attempted to grapple with the challenge of imposing an irreversible punishment in an error-prone system. After over a decade of trying, Illinois politicians came to the conclusion that it simply cannot be done – that capital punishment in Illinois is beyond repair. The system will always be prone to error, and the punishment of death will always be irreversible.

So they did the right thing, and indeed the only logical thing. They abolished the death penalty. Folks in other states where the flaws and shortcomings of capital punishment have become painfully clear should look to this example. What was true in Illinois is equally true in Connecticut, Maryland, Montana, or for that matter any other state that still keeps the death penalty on its books. The danger of executing the innocent can never be eliminated, the drain on the treasury will always divert resources from proven crime prevention measures, and the toll on the families of victims as they are dragged through a grueling process will always be both severe and completely unnecessary.

The Illinois experience has shown that, for both practical and moral reasons, the death penalty does not work. It is an irreversible punishment in an imperfect world, and a cruel and degrading punishment in a world where we should be striving to respect and promote human dignity. By rejecting the death penalty, Illinois has liberated itself from this failed experiment, and has scored a major victory for human rights.