Friday, June 12, 2015

An arrest has been made. Now what?

So on Monday I found out that those MOST responsible for Aimee's tragic death were arrested on the island of St. Maarten. After the initial euphoria wore off, I started to consider the next logical question: now what?
Scales of Justice: Image courtesy of http://cliparts.co/

First off, I never expected this day to come. As British citizens who were outside the U.S. at the time of the incident, and who were in a member of the British Commonwealth (Bahamas), there was little to no chance of them being arrested or extradited. I had accepted this reality, and decided that I needed to move on with my life with the likelihood that we would never see justice done to these people.

But now that they've been arrested, here's what I surmise what happens next, using my best educated guess:

  1. The U.S. Attorney in Florida will seek extradition of Chris Jones and Alison Gracey to the U.S.
  2. Given that they're no longer in a British Commonwealth country (St. Maarten is Dutch), my hunch is that extradition will be granted, and Jones and Gracey will be turned over to U.S. authorities.
  3. I think formal charges have already been filed, so I think the next step would be the beginning of the standard judicial process: arraignment, bail hearings, etc.
    (My hope is that they are not granted bail. First, they'd been living in the Caribbean for the last few years on the run, so I feel like they've used up their 'hall pass' so to speak. Two, I believe them to be a flight risk. And while they may not easily leave the U.S. without their passports, it's a big country to hide in, and people do manage to sneak out of the country from time to time.)
  4. Then we'll either have a trial, or they may plea bargain to avoid a trial. 
  5. If there's any justice at all, they'll do time in prison.
I can guarantee you this: if there's a trial, I'm going. Another guarantee I can make? No matter how much time they do, it won't be enough to make up for Aimee's loss. But I don't plan to dwell on that. While I do hope for justice, that is part of their life's path, not mine. Whether or not they go to jail impacts them, not me. 

As developments continue, I'll keep everyone posted.

2 comments:

  1. That is indeed good news. I hope that the state is able to follow through with the extradition and rendering of justice to those who were responsible for that tragic event. In any case, it pays to know what to expect, so you could follow on what is happening should they go to trial. Anyway, I hope that justice will prevail in the end. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter.

    Eliseo Weinstein @ JRs Bail Bond

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  2. Pat and Rowan, we are remembering Aimee on this day and pray for you and the family.

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