French Put Off Kopp Hearing
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RENNES, France — A French court Thursday postponed an extradition hearing for James Charles Kopp, the American wanted in the slaying of a New York abortion doctor.
Judge Dominique Bailhache granted Kopp’s request for more time to prepare, delaying the date to June 7. A three-judge panel in the western city of Rennes will then consider whether to grant the U.S. request for extradition.
Kopp was captured March 29 near Rennes after a two-year manhunt. He is charged with the 1998 murder of Barnett Slepian, a Buffalo obstetrician who performed abortions.
Kopp faces state and federal charges of murder and violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Both charges carry punishment of up to life in prison, and the federal charge can bring the death penalty.
The death penalty issue is complicating Kopp’s extradition from France, which abolished capital punishment in 1981 and has refused to extradite suspects who face the death penalty at home.
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