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An American has been deported from Australia to the US, where he could face prosecution for drowning his wife during their 2003 honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef – a crime for which he has served 18 months in an Australian prison.
Gabe Watson was deported from Melbourne to Los Angeles on a commercial flight today, accompanied by two immigration department staff and three Queensland state police officers, the Australian immigration minister, Chris Bowen, said.
The 33-year-old had been in immigration custody since completing an 18-month prison sentence earlier this month after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his wife of 11 days, 26-year-old Tina Watson.
Australia, a stanch opponent of capital punishment, delayed his deportation until it received a pledge from the US government that it would not seek the death penalty against him.
Prosecutors in Alabama, Watson's home and a pro-death penalty state,want to try him again over the death of his wife and are expected to press for murder charges.
Bowen said Watson returned voluntarily after both Alabama and US federal authorities guaranteed that he would not face the death penalty.
Watson's lawyer, Adrian Braithwaite, said his client was happy to go. "He's looking forward to returning home and successfully defending himself if there's a trial there," he told the Associated Press.
The California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, issued an extradition order for Watson, who will be taken into custody by Los Angeles police after he arrives at the airport, his spokesman, Aaron McLear, said.
Watson was described as the "honeymoon killer" by the Australian media after his wife drowned during a scuba diving trip off Queensland's tropical coast with her husband, an accomplished diver.
In 2008, the Queensland state coroner found that there was sufficient evidence to charge Watson with her death. He was officially charged with murder a few months later, and travelled to Australia to face trial last year.
Officials in Queensland argued that he killed his wife by turning off her air supply and holding her underwater.
When he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter last year, he was sentenced to 18 months – a punishment Tina Watson's family and the Alabama authorities said was far too lenient.
The Queensland coroner, David Glasgow, said Tina Watson's modest life insurance policy was a possible motive for the killing.
The Alabama attorney general, Troy King, has said he believes Watson devised a plot in Alabama to kill his wife on their honeymoon, which would give the US state jurisdiction to charge him.
King has argued that there are no international standards on double jeopardy that would prevent Alabama from trying Watson again over the death.
Bowen said it was not an issue for Australia whether there was a new prosecution. "My role has been to ensure that we fulfil our treaty obligations – we've done that," he told reporters in Canberra. "Double jeopardy is not covered by our treaty obligations.
"There is various speculation about what Mr Watson may or may not be charged with – I've seen some speculation that they would be different charges to what he's been charged with in Australia – but that is not a matter the Australian government has a role in."
Under Australia's extradition act, a person cannot be deported to face prosecution on a capital charge unless there is an assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed.
GUARDIAN
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