James Charles Kopp (born August 2, 1954) is an American citizen who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Barnett Slepian, an American physician from Amherst, New York who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999 he had become the 455th fugitive placed on the list by the FBI. He was affiliated with the militant Roman Catholic anti-abortion group known as "The Lambs of Christ".
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The FBI believed that Kopp received assistance in fleeing the US, although Irish pro-life groups denied they assisted him.[2][3]
Kopp fled to Mexico under an assumed name and later to Ireland. He then fled Ireland one step ahead of police on a ferry to Brittany, France on 12 March 2001, with two Irish passports besides his original U.S. document.[2]
On March 29, 2001, Kopp was arrested without an incident[4] by French law enforcement in the town of Dinan, Brittany, just after picking up a package containing $300.[2], outside of a post office[4]. The United States requested his extradition. Attorney General John Ashcroft promised that the death penalty would not be sought, handed down or applied, a prerequisite according to the extradition treaty between France and the United States. Ashcroft's promise was made over the objections of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark, both of whom wanted the death penalty, though such a sentence is not available in the New York State criminal justice system. Spitzer and Clark argued that the charge of murder was a state charge, not a federal charge, and Ashcroft had no jurisdiction in the matter. The instruction chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeals ruled in favor of extradition. Kopp appealed the ruling.<citation needed>
Extradition
In May 2002, Kopp waived all possible appeals in France and returned to the U.S. in June 2002.<citation needed>
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Kopp received help from a sympathetic pro-life activist couple, a Vietnam veteran and former stage and film actor Dennis Malvasi and his wife Loretta Marra of Brooklyn, who pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy in helping Kopp avoid capture. Marra and Malvasi had communicated extensively with Kopp, telling him also via electronic communications that "the coast is clear", referring to his proposed secretive return to US via Canada, and also to his use of their home as a safe house.[2] On August 21, 2003, they were sentenced to time served, and released in October that same year. The two fugitive assisters later relocated to Newark, New Jersey and briefly changed their names to Joyce Maier and Ted Barnes.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Charles_Kopp
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