I too am not comfortable with this but the sarcastic part of me wants to say that he should have picked another country to commit his crime.
I watched as Joran was bought to the border and imagined how difficult it will be to get a fair trial in a country where the victim's father is so well connected. He is a gringo in a latin country and all sorts of gross speculation is circulating the media. First he stabbed her or he viciously beat her with a bat. By the time the real truth comes out it will be too late. It could have been an argument gone bad. But because of what happened with NH it's hard to give this guy a fair chance. As an American we want eveyone to have a fair trial even if they are creeps and predators. It doesn't look like this is going to happen for Joran.
Hi French Vixen. I'm not attacking your post. I am jumping off some things that were said.
All of the below is my humble opinion, based on the fact that I am an American and I have lived outside of the USA for extended periods of time.
First, I think it's important for us to keep in mind that Joran is not an American citizen. Therefore, what we consider American rights and freedoms to not pertain to him.
Second, Peru has it's own laws and culture and I learned a very long time ago (from the experience of living outside of the USA for an extended period of time) that citizens of other countries must abide by the laws of the country they are either living in or visiting. As I said I do not know what Peruvian law is and I do not know their legal system as of yet, but I do intend to read up on it once I get settled into my new home (we are now in the Pacific).
We must be cautious not to assume that because JVDS is a foreigner to Peru that he will automatically be railroaded and that the justice system in Peru is corrupt only because it is different from ours. (I am aware of anecdotal cases of imprisonment within Peru by foreigners). But at this point in time I'm going to have to refrain from passing judgement on their legal system until I see exactly how it works. JMHO.
The only term I take issue with is to refer to JVDS as a "gringo" It has been my personal experience that that particular term is used for the most part as a slur against someone of caucasian race. However, I understand the reason it was chosen when I looked at it in the context of the sentence. Again, I will say (I've said it here on WS many times in the past) Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race. IMHO JVDS' race will not be an issue.
I can't say if JVDS will get a fair trial or not at this point but I will say this: When any of us travel to Country of which we are not a citizen, our rights and civil liberties extended to us by our native country no longer apply. We are at the mercy of the country in which we break their laws. (I have lot's of stories I could share about personally seeing fellow Americans breaking laws in various Countries).
Most importantly, I have learned that the media will usually report incorrect information in the rush to get info out. Happens in the US media so much it's aggravating and confusing to the point of peeving most of us off! Add to that the language translations, (even Peruvian dialect to the dialect of other Spanish speaking countries then into English or other languages and you got yourself a hot mess IMHO).
