U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady said Tuesday he has asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to seek the death penalty for the driver of a sealed tractor-trailer loaded with illegal immigrants, 19 of whom died.
"If we are ever to be serious about border safety, we have to send a message to smugglers that they cannot just leave victims to die in the hot sun," Brady, R-The Woodlands, said in an interview.
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Brady's announcement comes a day after Williams' attorneys met with members of the U.S. Justice Department's capital case death penalty review committee to argue against seeking the death penalty.
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If Ashcroft seeks the death penalty, it will be the first time it has been sought in an immigrant smuggling case, U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby has said.
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2386376