Kendall Coffey on Elian Gonzalez Interview

Kendall Coffey- Elian Gonzalez

When Elian Gonzalez was six years old, he was fighting to stay in the United States, according to most who knew them.  Kendall Coffey was a U.S. attorney at the time of the high profile case.  Eventually Gonzalez went back to Cuba, where his father resides. 

In a recent interview with Cuban media, Elian Gonzalez denounced the United States government as imperialist and said that anti-Cuban freedom fighters only caused harm and pain.  Kendall Coffey told Steve Malzberg on Newsmax that his words were straight from the mouth of the Cuban government. 

“He was very happy to be in the United States when he was here," said Kendall Coffey.

"Of course he wanted his father to be with him, but he was very happy to be here at the time. We predicted at the time that he would become a trophy of the Castro regime, and that he would be indoctrinated and be fed a script of whatever the regime wanted him to say.  You and listeners can decide whether that prediction has come to pass. With respect to his mother, which is someone who we all feel very strongly about, she sacrificed her life to bring her son to freedom.  Many have lost their lives to come here and it’s a reminder of how incredibly lucky we are to live in the United States, because 90% of the rest of the world would give most anything to be here where you and I walk and breathe and enjoy life everyday.”

Some speculate that the Elian Gonzalez interview was an attempt by Cuba to start negotiations to free five men convicted of espionage in Miami.  Gonzalez called for President Obama to pardon them in the piece.  

Gonzalez was found near the shores of Florida in 1999, after a boat escaping Cuba had capsized and killed most of the passengers, including Gonzalez' mother.  Relatives in the United States fought to keep Gonzalez, but he was eventually sent back to Cuba.

Kendall Coffey on Teen Murderers

Danvers, MA/ Flickr CC via Jimmy Emerson

Kendall Coffey appeared on the Steve Malzberg show for his regular "Spinning the Law" segment last Friday.  Malzberg asked Coffey about two grisly murders in the news, one recent and one resurfaced case from decades ago.  Both murders were committed by juvenile offenders, but both could serving out long sentences as adults.  

Colleen Ritzer, a 24 year old teacher in Danvers, Massachusetts,  was slain earlier this month.  Her body was found in the woods near the high school where she taught math.  A 14 year old student, Philip Chism, has been charged with her murder.  Chism is currently being held without bail and will be tried as an adult.  Steve Malzberg asked Kendall Coffey about the legal perspective of trying teenagers who commit violent crimes as adults.

The other murder discussed was the appeal of Michael Skakel, a nephew of Robert Kennedy, serving prison time for a murder committed over 30 years ago.  Skakel is appealing on the ground of ineffective assistance from his defense attorney.  The murder of Martha Moxley occurred when Skakel was 15.

“The perspective of the law has shifted quite a bit over the last 30 years.  It’s not just about the so-called alleged offender, but the victims.  This 24 year old teacher was apparently was absolutely loved, appreciated and respected, and there’s no difference in a brutal murder whether it was a child or an adult," said Coffey.

The former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey continued, "That’s part of the perspective, but the other thing is just recognition that young offenders commit terrible crimes and seem capable of making the choices.  Over the years, it used to be that the average killer was in their twenties.  Now a lot of alleged killers are in their teens.  So the system, to really deal with that kind of threat needs to recognize that someone who is able to carry out a brutal premeditated plan like this has the sufficient capabilities to be accountable as an adult.”

See the video of the interview below.  
 

Family Still Seeking Justice for Miami Citizens Shotdown by Cuban Planes

A. ENRIQUE VALENTIN / EL NUEVO HERALD FILE, 1997

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/04/3431391/the-saga-of-the-shootdown-of-the.html#storylink=cpy

On February 245, 1996, two small aircraft flying over Miami were shot down by Cuban MiG fighter jets.  Four Miami citizens were killed.  While five men were investigated and one man convicted for the murder, one family member is still hoping for justice to be brought against the responsible parties: Raul and Fidel Castro, of the Cuban government.

  The planes were piloted by volunteers of the group Brothers to the Rescue, a group of Cuban nationals that seek refugees trying to swim the Florida straights from Cuba to the United States.  The group started in 1991 after a man floating on raft to Florida died of dehydration after being picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Kendall Coffey has called for prosecution against the Castro brothers over this case multiple times since the incident.  Most recently in 2010, when Mr. Coffey met with U.S. Attorneys in Florida to ask that the evidence against Fidel and Raul Castro be brought to grand jury for the murder of the pilots.  The U.S. Attorney office told parties involved that the request would be taken under advisement, but no action was taken.

This month the brother of one of the victims, Nelson Morales, has filed a legal demand for courts to see evidence against the Castros regarding the crime.  Attorney Juan Zorilla is representing Morales, whose brother Pablo was among the murdered men.  U.S. attorney Eduardo Sanchez has already asked for the judge to throw out the complaint as he does not see evidence that Morales' "Writ of Mandamaus" does not prove his personal hardship, nor is the evidence against the Castros sufficient for an indictment.