Belizean Deon Bruce, who is facing extradition to the United States for murder and attempted murder was rejected by the Supreme Court today. His attorney Audrey Matura Shepherd was seeking judicial review of Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith's ruling that he should be extradited, and also making what's called a Habeas Corpus application. For two days, she argued mightily before Justice Courtney Abel but in the end, all of the eight points she advanced were shot down. She discussed it with the media outside the courtroom today:..
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, Attorney
"Every point we made, we fought for them but it was ruled against us; however, that's not the end of it. I've just received instructions from my client that he wants to appeal the decision and therefore going to submit a stay of execution of the order and submit appeals and we are looking at other options, not only in terms of his case but he is looking at other principles of law that we've discussed that we need to challenge in the courts and I think that as more and more Belizeans will be sought for extradition, more and more of them will be challenging it and more and more attorneys will be taking it on and you have to look at all different 
avenues because an extradition act is a very serious legislation that our government entered into without the sanction of the people since 2000 and as a result of that citizens of this country can be taken to the US for crimes that they allegedly did there, but we are yet to get anyone from the US to Belize because we don't have the financial means to do it and ironically they will take them, convict them there and still deport them back. There is a bigger policy issue here and I think the time is coming where that law has to be challenged."
So Bruce remains on remand, and as Matura-Shepherd said, they will now seek a stay of execution on his extradition.
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