Extradition
In 1978, the United States signed a treaty with Mexico that acknowledged Mexico's right not to extradite one of its citizens if the citizen faced the death penalty. The Mexican Supreme Court also declared it against the law to extradite a Mexican citizen facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Mexican Consul announced that unless the Mexican government received assurances that Gómez-García would not face either of these punishments, there would be no extradition. The mandatory penalty for first degree murder in Colorado is either execution or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As a result of this potential outcome, Colorado Representative Bob Beauprez introduced legislation before the United States House to cut foreign aid to countries that refused to extradite people suspected of murdering American law enforcement agents. This bill was signed into law in November 2005. One local radio personality declared that if anything good came of Young's death it would be because it would highlight the problem of illegal immigration.
While murdering a police officer is usually a capital offense in Colorado, on June 9, 2005, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrisey announced that Gómez-García would be charged with second degree murder and first degree attempted murder. These charges posed a maximum of 32–96 years in prison. Morrisey justified the charges, stating, "It is my understanding that I would be prohibited from extraditing him if I sought first-degree murder charges in this case."
Read more about this topic: 2005 Denver Police Officer Shooting