Suspected killer of Pictou-Aquash should be extradited: court

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has ruled there is enough evidence to recommend the extradition of a Canadian man wanted in the United States for a murder that took place nearly 30 years ago.

Yukon-born John Graham, now 49, faces charges of killing fellow native activist Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash in South Dakota in 1976. The Mi'kmaq woman from Nova Scotia was shot in the back of the head.

• INDEPTH: Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash

Graham's daughters began weeping as Justice Elizabeth Bennett read out the decision. The accused man simply stood, gave a small smile and waved to supporters.

Outside the courthouse, he spoke briefly with reporters.

"I am very disappointed," he said. "Surprised? No, not surprised, because the lawyers warned me."

Aquash's family cheered the ruling.

"Certainly we're pleased as a family," says Denise Maloney Pictou, Aquash's daughter.

"I'm personally pleased as her daughter that the B.C. Department of Justice believes the vicious, violent murder of this Canadian woman activist, sister and mother does matter."

Graham's lawyer, Terry LaLiberté, intends to file an appeal on his client's behalf.

The formal extradition order will not be issued until at least March 2, at LaLiberté's request.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler will make the final decision on whether Graham will be sent back to the U.S. to face trial.

Victim suspected of being FBI informant

Both Graham and Pictou-Aquash were members of the American Indian Movement, so the long-awaited ruling has drawn intense interest from aboriginal communities on both sides of the border.

Pictou-Aquash's fate was marked in Buffy Sainte-Marie's song Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

The song reflects the belief of many native groups that government agents killed her in an effort to undermine the American Indian Movement.

The FBI alleges that Pictou-Aquash was executed because fellow activists suspected she was an FBI informant during a time of tense relations over territorial claims between natives and the American government.

Based on the evidence of two witnesses, including Arlo Looking Cloud, who was convicted a year ago of first-degree murder in the case, the agency claims Graham pulled the trigger.

• FROM FEB. 7, 2004: Jury convicts man in Canadian's murder

Before Monday's ruling, Graham's lawyer said the evidence against him is flawed – that the information certified by American authorities stated that they were looking for a man six inches taller and much heavier than Graham.

"These are two different people they're talking about, but they don't feel they have to explain this," said LaLiberté.

"That type of thing is arrogant. I think it's insulting to our courts because our courts here are duty bound to accept what's happening down there is being done with integrity."

The Crown says the evidence's reliability will be tested when the case goes to trial. The Extradition Act merely requires the court to presume the evidence from the Americans is accurate.

Graham's lawyer also complained that the law makes it easy to have Canadians sent to the U.S. He warned that if his client is extradited, he won't get a fair trial.

Graham has been living under house arrest in Vancouver while awaiting the outcome of the hearing.