Extradition from Canada—Joseph Pannell

The extradition hearing for Joseph Pannell has begun in Canada.^[1] Mr. Pannell is accused of shooting a Chicago police officer, Terrence Knox, during a street shootout in 1969, which left Mr. Knox partially paralyzed.^[2] Mr. Pannell’s lawyers are arguing that he should not be extradited to the United States because there is an inconsistency in Mr. Knox’s testimony.^[3]

Mr. Knox told the court that while he was outside his cruiser, he was shot at seven times by Mr. Pannell, who was allegedly a member of the Black Panthers.^[4] However, in a victim impact statement, Mr. Knox stated that we was fired upon “about 13 times” while he was seated in his police vehicle.^[5]

Arguing on behalf of the United States, Crown attorney Milica Potrebic said that the discrepancy is irrelevant since the hearing is only to determine whether there is enough evidence to extradite Mr. Pannell to stand trial in Illinois.^[6]

Mr. Pannell had working in a Toronto library under an assumed name, and was arrested last July when the US Department of Justice asked Canadian authorities to search of matches of Mr. Pannell’s fingerprints.^[7]

Under the terms of the extradition treaty between the United States and Canada, extradition will be granted “only if the evidence be found sufficient, according to the laws of the place where the person sought shall be found,” to justify his committal for trial in that country.^[8]

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[1] Extradition Hearing Begins for Man Accused of Shooting Chicago Cop in 1969, Canadian Press, Oct. 6, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Extradition Treaty, Jul. 9, 1974, U.S.-Can., art. 10, para. 1, 27 U.S.T. 983.