Samuel Sheinbein
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Samuel Sheinbein, born in 1980, is an American convicted murderer. In September 1997, Sheinbein and a former classmate at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Aaron Benjamin Needle, killed Alfredo Enrique Tello, Jr. then dismembered and burned his body in Aspen Hill, Maryland. Needle later hanged himself in his jail cell.
Sheinbein fled to Israel with the help of his father, Sol Sheinbein, an attorney who held dual citizenship in the United States and Israel. Sol Sheinbein was later charged with obstruction of justice and disbarred by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.[1] Once in Israel, Sheinbein applied for and received Israeli citizenship (As a Jew and as the son of an Israeli national, Sheinbein was eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship). Sheinbein then rented a hotel room, where he abused drugs, drank, and hired a prostitute. After being hospitalized for a drug overdose, Sheinbein was arrested.[2]
After being notified of Sheinbein's presence in Israel, the U.S. government requested that he be extradited, and Congress threatened to withhold aid to Israel. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that she expected "maximum cooperation" from Israel. The Jerusalem Magistrate Court ruled that Sheinbein should be extradited, ruling that since he had no meaningful connections to the State of Israel, used a U.S. passport, and had never lived in Israel, he was not enough of a citizen to deserve protection under Israeli law.[2] Following an appeal, the Israeli Supreme Court blocked his extradition, citing a 1978 law banning the extradition of Israeli citizens. This resulted in a severe strain in U.S.-Israeli relations and outrage from the Latino-American community. There was also concern in Israel over the ruling, including the fear that the country might become a haven for Jewish criminals.[3][4][5] Sheinbein was then indicted in Israel. He was charged for murder with intent to kill: the equivalent of first-degree murder in the United States.[6] Sheinbein's trial took place in the Tel Aviv District Court.
After Sheinbein accepted a plea bargain with prosecutors, the three-judge panel sentenced him to 24 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 16 years. Court President Uri Goren read the verdict, stating that "the actual murder, together with the monstrous acts that were committed to the body, show that sanctity of life and a person's dignity both in life and death are values to which the defendant attaches no significance. In light of his age, and in light of the severity of his actions, the defendant therefore deserves a severe and deterring punishment". The sentence, lenient by U.S. standards, combined with the refusal to extradite him, strained American-Israeli relations. Outrage was expressed in both countries, with many editorials in Israel criticizing Sheinbein's manipulation of Israeli law.[2]
Even after his release, Sheinbein will still face prosecution if he ever returns to the United States.
[edit] References
- ^ http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/district-of-columbia/court-of-appeals/03-bg-53-5.pdf?1316643873
- ^ a b c http://www.nesl.edu/userfiles/file/lawreview/vol35/4/chaplin.pdf
- ^ http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/israel_rapped_sheinbein
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp=srv/local/daily/feb99/sheinbein26.htm
- ^ http://www.wash ingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/feb99/sheinbein27.htm
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/march99/sheinbein23.htm
