Letter to the Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Letter

Durbin, Obama Call on Rice to Support Extradition of Confessed Chicago Murderer

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) and today sent the following letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, requesting that she immediately urge her French counterparts to examine the extradition case of Hans Peterson and advise the U.S. Embassy in Paris of the importance of this case.

Earlier this month, Hans Peterson confessed to the brutal murder of Chicago physician, Dr. David Cornbleet, and is currently in French custody in St. Martin. According to reports, Peterson obtained a French passport after he allegedly committed the murder in an effort to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States. The Department of Justice Office of International Affairs also issued a formal request to the Government of France for Peterson's extradition.

Earlier today, Durbin and Obama sent a letter to Chargé d'Affaires François Rivasseau at the French Embassy in Washington, DC, urging the Government of France to agree to the United States' request for the extradition of Hans Peterson to face criminal prosecution for the murder of Dr. David Cornbleet

text of the letter below and attached

August 20, 2007

Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Madam Secretary:

We write in regard to the murder of Dr. David Cornbleet and in order to request your assistance in assuring that justice is served in this matter.

Dr. Cornbleet, a physician in Chicago, Illinois, was brutally stabbed to death on October 24, 2006. It is our understanding that Mr. Hans Peterson has confessed to the murder of Dr. Cornbleet, and is currently in the custody of French authorities in St. Martin. The United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs has issued a formal request to the Government of France for the extradition of Hans Peterson to face criminal prosecution for Dr. Cornbleet's murder. We strongly support this extradition request.

After Dr. Cornbleet's death, Mr. Peterson, an American citizen, traveled to St. Martin in the French West Indies. In May 2007, Mr. Peterson sought and obtained a French passport after Mr. Peterson's American former roommates contacted the Chicago Police Department to report their suspicions that Peterson was involved in Dr. Cornbleet's murder. In June 2007, a warrant was issued by the State's Attorney's Office in Cook County, Illinois, for Mr. Peterson's arrest. In August 2007, Mr. Peterson turned himself in to French authorities in St. Martin and allegedly confessed to murdering Dr. Cornbleet.

It appears that Mr. Peterson has sought to claim French citizenship - subsequent to the alleged commission of a heinous crime - in an attempt to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States. Dr. Cornbleet's family, the people of Illinois, and the United States criminal justice system have a strong and compelling interest in seeing Mr. Peterson face trial in the United States, but to do so the Government of France must first agree to the extradition request for Mr. Peterson. As such, we strongly urge that you raise this issue with your French counterparts and advise our Ambassador in Paris of the importance of this matter.

We thank you in advance for the consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

Dick Durbin
United States Senator

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