In Re: Pleau, No. 11-1782 (1st Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseIn 2010 defendant, then serving a sentence in Rhode Island state prison for parole and probation violations, was charged with a 2000 armed robbery and murder of a gas station manager (18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A); 924(j)(1) and 1951(a)). The governor refused to transfer defendant to federal custody because doing so would expose a Rhode Island citizen, to a potential death sentence on federal charges, in contravention of the state's longstanding rejection of capital punishment. Defendant agreed to plead guilty to state charges. Unable to obtain custody under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, 18 U.S.C. App. 2, the federal prosecutor filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. The district court granted the motion. The First Circuit issued a writ of prohibition, reasoning that the writ of habeas corpus should be treated as a request for custody under the IAD and that the governor has a right to refuse such transfer. To grant the federal government custody would be to allow it to circumvent the IAD.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 24, 2011.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 7, 2012.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 11, 2012.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 21, 2012.
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