Extradition

This book examines the ways in which Western democracies - including Great Britain, Canada and the United States - have devolved from independent sovereign states dedicated to protecting their citizens from predation by other nations, to vassal states who routinely sell out their accused citizens to powerful "extradition partners" on the skimpiest of evidence. Executive discretion trumps judicial discretion. More importantly, international cooperation trumps individual rights. Alleged offenders facing extradition do not enjoy the presumption of innocence. Once surrendered, they are treated as aliens in a hostile land. Since they are kept locked up until their trial, there is great pressure for them to plead out, and in the process to implicate others in exchange for a lighter sentence. As a result, in the extradition arena, prosecutorial tunnel vision and (in the United States) rampant McCarthyism once more prevail.