Durbin, Schakowsky, Emanuel Urge French Justice Minister to Ensure Justice Is Done During Hans Peterson Retrial
Confessed murderer of Chicago physician should be vigorously prosecuted
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel today urged the Minister of Justice of France to ensure that justice is served in the retrial of Hans Peterson, who confessed to murdering Chicago physician Dr. David Cornbleet in 2006. Peterson was initially convicted of murder in a 2011 trial in the French justice system and received the most severe sentence available. Peterson exercised his right under French law to seek a full retrial which is scheduled to begin next week.
Durbin, Schakowsky and Emanuel wrote: “While we have been profoundly disappointed that France’s extradition treaty with the United States has not permitted Mr. Peterson’s extradition to face trial in the state of Illinois, we appreciate the efforts that the Government of France has made thus far to hold Mr. Peterson accountable for his crimes to the fullest extent of French law. We urge the Government of France to continue to vigorously prosecute Mr. Peterson in the upcoming retrial, and we also urge that the Government of France do all it can to ease the burden borne by the Cornbleet family as the retrial is conducted. For the memory of Dr. Cornbleet and for the sake of his loved ones, it is time for justice to be done.”
In 2007, Durbin and then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sent a letter to Chargé d’Affaires Rivasseau at the French Embassy in Washington, DC, urging the Government of France to agree to the United States’ request for Peterson’s extradition to face criminal prosecution for Dr. Cornbleet’s murder. The Illinois Senators also sent letters to Secretary of State Rice, requesting that she immediately urge her French counterparts to examine the extradition request and to advise the U.S. Embassy in Paris of the importance of this case.
[Full text of the letter is below]
November 16, 2012
Christiane Taubira
Minister of Justice of France
13, Place Vendôme
75042 Paris Cedex 01
Dear Minister Taubira:
In the coming days the French government will conduct a retrial in the prosecution of Hans Peterson, an American citizen with dual French nationality who has confessed to the 2006 murder of a respected and beloved Chicago physician, Dr. David Cornbleet. We urge the Government of France to prosecute Mr. Peterson during this retrial with the same vigor, diligence, and care that were applied in Mr. Peterson’s initial 2011 trial in which he was convicted and received the most severe sentence available. While Mr. Peterson has exercised his right under French law to seek a full retrial, the facts in this case and Mr. Peterson’s guilt are not in dispute. It is imperative, for the sake of the Cornbleet family and for all those whose lives have been affected by Dr. Cornbleet’s murder, that the Government of France ensure that justice is served in Mr. Peterson’s retrial.
As you may know, Dr. Cornbleet was brutally stabbed to death in his Chicago office on October 24, 2006. After the murder, Mr. Peterson, an American citizen of French ancestry, obtained a French passport, fled to the French West Indies, turned himself in to French authorities and confessed to the murder. Mr. Peterson made clear that he was taking advantage of his dual nationality to choose to face justice for his crimes under the French justice system instead of the American justice system. Mr. Peterson was subsequently tried under French law in the island of Guadeloupe in 2011. During this trial, Mr. Peterson testified openly about the acts of brutality and torture that he inflicted upon Dr. Cornbleet before killing him. Mr. Peterson was convicted of murder with acts of barbarity and received the maximum possible sentence under French law: life in prison with the possibility of parole in 22 years.
Dr. Cornbleet’s family, including his wife and two children, attended the trial in Guadeloupe and provided testimony about Dr. Cornbleet and his murder. Now that Mr. Peterson has exercised his right under French law to seek a full retrial, the family will be compelled to attend and provide testimony yet again when the retrial commences in Paris. The years since 2006 have been exceedingly difficult for the Cornbleet family, and we join with them in seeking both justice for this terrible crime and closure to the lengthy and painful legal process that they have endured.
While we have been profoundly disappointed that France’s extradition treaty with the United States has not permitted Mr. Peterson’s extradition to face trial in the state of Illinois, we appreciate the efforts that the Government of France has made thus far to hold Mr. Peterson accountable for his crimes to the fullest extent of French law. We urge the Government of France to continue to vigorously prosecute Mr. Peterson in the upcoming retrial, and we also urge that the Government of France do all it can to ease the burden borne by the Cornbleet family as the retrial is conducted. For the memory of Dr. Cornbleet and for the sake of his loved ones, it is time for justice to be done.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress
Rahm Emanuel
Mayor, City of Chicago
Cc: Ambassador François Delattre