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Justice delayed: Longfellow's coffin leaves Phuket in 2010

Phuket Murder Victim's American Family Petitions British High Court via Facebook

Saturday, June 2, 2012
PHUKET: The family of a US citizen murdered on the Thai holiday island of Phuket is petitioning the British High Court to have his alleged killer returned speedily to Phuket to face trial.

Extraditing the alleged killer, Lee ''Pitbull'' Aldhouse, from Britain to Thailand would set a precedent. And because the case involves the murder of an American citizen, authorities in the US, Britain and Thailand are anxiously awaiting the British High Court's decision.

However, most anxious of all for justice are the family and friends of the murder victim, former Marine Dashawn Longfellow.

The family and friends are now calling for signatures to an internet petition to urge British justice to get a move on.

The legal process has been delayed in Britain more than once as Aldhouse's legal team take every possible action to prevent their client becoming the first British citizen extradited to Thailand, where a conviction for murder could carry a life sentence.

According to Aldhouse's lawyers, imprisonment in a Thai jail would infringe his rights. Thai jails, including Phuket Prison, are certainly more crowded and more basic than those in Britain.

The friends and family of Dashawn Longfellow, however, take the view that Aldhouse, whom they believe is Longfellow's killer, should be swiftly sent to Thailand.

Now they have launched a Facebook petition following a report that the British High Court had postponed hearing the appeal, due to begin in May in London, on a request from Mr Aldhouse's solicitors.

The petition says: ''Lee Aldhouse should be extradited back to Thailand to stand trial for the murder of our son, brother, cousin, and friend Dashawn Longfellow. This extradition process has been delayed for almost 2 years due to him claiming the Thai prisons have inhumane living conditions. I've not read or heard of any claims that he didn't murder him..... just that he would rather not suffer in a Thai jail for doing it.
He took a life and should of (sic) thought of that before killing Dashawn.
PLEASE sign the petition to have this man sent back to Thailand to face his charges....
JUSTICE FOR DASHAWN!!!!!''

Coupled with the precedent that would be set if extradition takes place, the notion of a group of Americans petitioning the British High Court via the Internet to have an alleged murderer extradited to Thailand poses the freshest twist in a Phuket case that is already noteworthy.

Although it would mean footing the bill for the probable long-term imprisonment of a man from one foreign country accused of killing a man from another foreign country while on holiday in a third country, Thai authorities are anxious to have Aldhouse back on Phuket to stand trial.

There is also the US perspective. If on a point of law the British High Court rejected extradition, American authorities are likely to be asked by Longfellow's family and friends to find some other way of ensuring that justice is done.

The case against Aldhouse is known to be powerful, including as it does footage taken in a Phuket 7-Eleven store of a man who looks a lot like Aldhouse scooping two knives from the floor and going out the door in an apparent rage.

Soon afterwards, Dashawn Longfellow was knifed to death in an ambush as he returned to his Phuket apartment. Aldhouse had started a fight at a local bar earlier in the night, a fight that Aldhouse lost.

Longfellow was killed in August 2010. His family and friends are clearly weary of the wait for a form of international justice that has first to clear the High Court in Britain before the question of Aldhouse's innocence or guilt can even be raised on Phuket.

The British High Court has yet to reveal when the Aldhouse appeal will be heard.

Facebook site RIP Dashawn DC Longfellow contains a link to the change.org petition organised by Longfellow's family and friends.

Phuketwan Exclusive Coverage

Footage from inside the 7-Eleven can be viewed at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvuYakEINGg

CNN coverage with Phuketwan can be viewed at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/17/thailand.kickboxing.killer/?hpt=T2#fbid=j8b3WNTelG3&wom=false

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

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Thats right!! Let it be known!! I'm Dashawn's sister and that piece of trash needs to be sent back! Wait lets make it easy just put him in a closed arena with me and all of our family and the marines....justice? I think so!

Posted by Sabr???? on June 2, 2012 09:42

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Dashawn was a cool guy. He was always smiling when I saw him at Freedom Bar. Just relaxing and always happy.

Posted by Matt on June 2, 2012 09:47

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Thailand's death penalty will forestall any efforts for extradition, however deserved.

Posted by Media Watcher on June 2, 2012 13:13

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Dashawn was a particularly nice person. Considering his size, he was one of those more gentle souls and all-in-all a very fine individual. It was, and remains, a great loss to all that knew him and our hearts continuously goes out to his family.

Lawyers... that's their job, to delay things as long as possible. It doesn't matter which country, they are all the same. As for the High Court - once this does go before a Judge and even if that Judge does grant extradition, the next step for his lawyers will be the European Court of Human Rights. Once this happens it could take years before a decision is made.

Unfortunately for Dashawn and his family, justice will take time, but let's hope for his memory that Justice is served.

Posted by Graham on June 2, 2012 14:21

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Justice must be done. Do the crime in Thailand, do the time in Thailand and while I will always oppose the death penalty, if you do a crime in a place where that is the punishment then stop whinging. As for the condition of Thai prisons, it should not come into it at all. Do the crime there do the time there.

Posted by Arthur on June 2, 2012 17:43

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As a Brit, I really don't think any judge will send the piece of "trash" back here - I would love to see it happen, don't get me wrong. But I can't see it, no matter what British politicians may say. Could he not be sent to a US prison ? I think an alternative is your best chance. Good luck. You have a lot of supporters here in Phuket. So sorry for your loss.

Posted by James on June 2, 2012 18:32

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We have had the Thai government take the death penalty off the table. He doesn't deserve to die that easy! He deserves to rot. I agree. Do crime in Thailand you should do the time. I agree that the prison living conditions shouldn't have anything to do with the decision. But since it does the Thai authorities have been building a cell just for him to rot away in. He doesn't deserve the luxury of sitting in Birmingham jail. They gave him a effing cell phone in there!! Are you kidding me!!

Justice will be served one way or another. Justice will be served

Posted by Sabre on June 2, 2012 20:15

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Well said James, I doubt they will extradite him too, which is rediculous. I am sure no one cares how 'uncomfortable' the Thai prisons are, that's the whole point of punishment isn't it? The Authorities have already said he won't receive the death sentence, so it's not an issue. I hope he rots, wherever he is.

Posted by Jon on June 2, 2012 21:15

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Article is incorrect as he could possibly receive the death penalty in Thailand, not only life imprisonment, hence why the Brits cannot extradite him under their current laws

Posted by Jimmy on June 2, 2012 23:30

Editor Comment:

The article is not incorrect, Jimmy. Arrangements have already been made to ensure ''life'' is the maximum possible penalty, otherwise lower courts would not have approved his extradition. Even the relevant government minister approved extradiition.

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We have to give the (adult) boy a (fair) trial as that is what our collective, English & American, governments are based on. I don't think Thai courts will be biased as it's clearly foreigner vs foreigner (not farang - I can spell :).

Posted by Ty on June 3, 2012 02:11

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Let's see. If British jails (or gaols) have TVs, full internet, and pretty female guards, does that mean other countries must do the same to qualify for extradition. If so there is something is wrong with the world. In America there is a saying that "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime." The same principle might be that "if you do a crime, but must have a cushy prison, stay home!"

Posted by John on October 18, 2012 20:39


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