B.C. judges reserve decision on Graham's extradition

Three justices in the B.C. Court of Appeal reserved their decision Thursday on an extradition order for John Graham, a former Yukoner wanted in the United States in connection with the 1976killing of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq activist Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash.

Graham, who has been fighting to stay in Canada since 2003, appeared in a Vancouver court this week to appeal the extradition order that then-justice minister Vic Toews issued last year. It would send Graham to the U.S. to face a murder charge in South Dakota.

Graham remains free on bail while the justices make their decision.

Pictou-Aquash and Graham were members of the American Indian Movement. In 1976, Aquash's body was found abandoned in a ravine at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She had been shot in the back of the head.

Graham was arrested in connection with Pictou-Aquash's murder in December 2003. In 2005, the B.C. Supreme Court decided Graham should be sent to the U.S. to face the charge, and in June 2006, Toews issued the extradition order.

The B.C. Court of Appeal's public gallery was full with Graham's supporters and interested onlookers during this week's hearing.

Pictou-Aquash's daughter, Deborah Pictou Maloney, was also in attendance, saying she wants the process to be lawful and just.

The Crown argued Thursday that theB.C. Supreme Courtdecision to extradite Graham should stand and he should be sent back to the U.S.

Graham's lawyers reviewed evidence presented at his first extradition hearing in December 2003. The court heard that one witness is dead and another has denied making any incriminating statements against Graham.

In an affadavit, a third witness, Arlo Looking Cloud, has refused to testify against Graham. Looking Cloud has already been convicted in the U.S for Pictou-Aquash's murder.