Jerusalem – An American hit-and-run driver who was finally found here last year, after fleeing Florida over a decade ago, may not be extraditable because Florida does not allow its prisoners to receive kosher food.
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Jerusalem District Court Judge Ben-Tzion Greenberger on ruled that Lawrence Seth Wayne, who had been sentenced by a Florida court to 19 years in prison for the 1998 road accident, could not be extradited to a state that would violate his right to practice his religion.
If he was not assured kosher food, extraditing Wayne would constitute “a serious violation of his most basic rights to freedom of religion and worship,” Greenberger said.
Florida has refused to allow Wayne to receive kosher food in prison even if he pays for it privately, and insists he must begin serving his sentence in Florida while awaiting the proceedings to transfer him to another state.
In February 1998, Wayne, a twice-convicted drunk driver, was again driving drunk when he slammed into Donald Cantwell’s pickup truck in Delray Beach, mortally injuring him. Wayne fled the scene but was apprehended by police. Cantwell died two days later.
Wayne was convicted of DUI manslaughter and sentenced to 19 years, but was let out on $50,000 bond while he appealed the case. He lost the appeal and fled the country before he could be brought to prison.
This is the reason Rubashkin was not allowed out on bail. They run to Israel to escape justice. I’m not saying Rubashkin would have done this but this is not the first such case.
well the water is Kosher & then find him a kosher loaf of bread a couple of times a week. End of story.
My, my, what a sudden burst of criminals suddenly eating kosher food!
Rubashkins whole conviction was a libel- no comparison
Please do not judge before knowing the true facts, and do not mix up 2 different storys.
I think whoever is making this decision is very foolish. The bottom line is: Do they want Wayne back in Florida or not? Wayne was convicted of driving drunk twice before, and then he winds up killing a man. Vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence and Florida is making a big fuss over his food? Not too smart, huh?
kol hakavod. hopefully florida will make a change.
This doesn’t sound right. Multiple Federal Courts have held that Jewish prisoners have access to kosher food. I don’t know that Florida can have (or maintain) a “policy” of no kosher food. Be interesting to see how this turns out.
Wow, I wonder who posted the bail, he can kiss good buy to the bounds, people ask to help post bail for pidyon shvueim and lots of people don’t want to do it, now I see why; as far as kosher food? If the prisners keeps kosher before the crime, they should let him keep kosher inside, if he did not? So why put up the fight for him? Don’t take court time and tax payers money away from us, sit and think of what you did to others when you drove drunk; it’s not all about you and your food!
Wake up and smell the coffee;
These judges make me sick. A criminal has no right to evade punishment by invoking his frumkeit. Think about that before you commit your crime. Who cares about the hashgacha in the prison. It is much more important to assure that criminals pay for their crimes. The days of country club prisons with 4 star hashgacha for the meals is over. Lets focus on the victims of crimes, rather than guys like Wayne, SMR, Dwek and others who become the heroes simply because they claim to be ehrliche yidden.
Can’t the community raise the funds to pay the difference between kosher and non-kosher meals?
Who says Israel doesn’t extradite American fugitives? I know of one person in particular,( who was set up by an American fugitive crook, and is innocent) and he was extradited to an American prison, where he is languishing while awaiting the very slow process of America’s justice system.
it makes me sick how ppl bash SMR how naeve can 1 be. you must nor had lookt into it to much to see the pure hate in that court and US goverment. i guess jewish pepole where always left and still r going back to the time in mitzrayim. so mabye i should not expect to much.
They (america/florida/goyim) are not hurting any prisonners by not providing kosher food. They are simply being lawless and discriminatory and racist.
If they thought the prisonner didn’t deserve any respect or comforts, they can give him tasteless, nutrient-poor food. Or death penalty or be emotionally abusive to make him feel the pain of his punishment and incarceration. Whatever they want. They can treat a murderer like what he is.
But not to force feed him non kosher food.
I cannot imagine how anyone can undo the damage of being motzee shem rah against Mr. Rubashkin, who is languishing in prison (and whose family members may be reading these very messages), and against this individual, without having all the facts. What a chutzpah. Good luck on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Something here does not make sense. There are 2 laws in the U.S. which specifically requires that prison allow reasonable religious accommodations to prisons including kosher food. One law applies to the federal prisons, the other law applies to state prisons. A state may not deny kosher food to a Jewish prisoner who requests it.
In addition, there is a Chabad-Lubavitch organization called the Aleph Foundation which assists Jewish prisoners and military personnel in maintaining their yiddishkeit. They also arranged with Florida over a year and a half ago, to provide kosher food for Jewish prisoners. See that story at: http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/1246270/jewish/Kosher-Food-Coming-to-FL-Prisons.htm
Several years ago, through the Aleph Foundation, I helped represent a Jewish former prisoner in Vermont who sued their Department of Corrections for denying him kosher for Pesach food, matzah and grape juice, as well as other religious articles. He won a settlement with Vermont whereby they also agreed to provide all future Jewish prisoners with kosher food and religious articles through the Aleph Foundation.