[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3470 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3470

To amend the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 
   1996 to require that, in order to determine that a democratically 
  elected government in Cuba exists, the government extradite to the 
     United States convicted felon Joanne Chesimard and all other 
 individuals who are living in Cuba in order to escape prosecution or 
   confinement for criminal offenses committed in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 6, 2003

  Mr. Rothman (for himself and Mr. Menendez) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 
   1996 to require that, in order to determine that a democratically 
  elected government in Cuba exists, the government extradite to the 
     United States convicted felon Joanne Chesimard and all other 
 individuals who are living in Cuba in order to escape prosecution or 
   confinement for criminal offenses committed in the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Safe Haven in Cuba Act''.

SEC. 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) on May 2, 1973, Joanne Chesimard and two companions, 
        upon being stopped in their vehicle by New Jersey State 
        Troopers James Harper and Werner Foerster on the New Jersey 
        Turnpike, opened fire on these officers, striking Trooper 
        Werner Foerster in the chest and James Harper in the left 
        shoulder;
            (2) the suspects then used Trooper Foerster's own weapon to 
        shoot him twice in the head, killing him;
            (3) in 1977, a properly constituted jury in a fair trial 
        conducted according to the international norms of the rule of 
        law, found Ms. Chesimard guilty of first-degree murder for the 
        slaying of Trooper Foerster, as a result of which Ms. Chesimard 
        was legally and properly sentenced to life imprisonment in a 
        New Jersey State prison;
            (4) in 1979, Ms. Chesimard escaped from the Reformatory for 
        Women in Clinton, New Jersey, with the help of four men who 
        took a guard and prison van driver hostage, thereby recklessly 
        placing the lives of both men in danger;
            (5) after escaping prison, Ms. Chesimard fled to Cuba for 
        the sole purpose of escaping her legally imposed life sentence 
        in prison for the murder of Trooper Foerster;
            (6) there are currently approximately 80 other individuals 
        who have fled from the United States to Cuba in order to avoid 
        legal prosecution or legally imposed confinement for serious 
        criminal offenses;
            (7) respect for the rule of law is a primary condition for 
        the establishment of any legitimate democratic government; and
            (8) legitimate democratic governments must show respect for 
        the justice systems of one another and not provide safe harbor 
        to individuals who have been legally indicted or convicted of 
        serious offenses.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO LIBERTAD ACT.

    Section 206 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity 
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6066) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) has proven its respect for the democratic rule of law 
        by ceasing to provide a safe harbor to individuals who have 
        been legally indicted or convicted of serious criminal 
        offenses, including convicted felon Joanne Chesimard, and all 
        other individuals who have fled from the United States to Cuba 
        for the sole purpose of avoiding prosecution or confinement for 
        serious criminal offenses committed in the United States.''.
                                 <all>