Above is a picture of Cecil the lion of Zimbabwe in 2010. Thirteen years of age Cecil was born circa 2002.
Cecil lived in Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve). The park was founded in year 1928.
On or about July 1st, 2015 the lion known as Cecil was murdered by a dentist from Minnesota (USA) named Walter James Palmer (shown on left with glasses):
Walter Palmer’s home address is 11413 Larding Road, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55347.
Walter Palmer was born on January 16th, 1960 and his US Passport number is 445469954.
It appears that Palmer has killed a sizable number of large animals including a white rhino in South Africa:
Palmer has (or had?) a dental practice called River Bluff Dental which is located at 10851 Rhode Island Ave S, Bloomington, Minnesota 55438, telephone number 952-884-5361.
Palmer’s website, www.riverbluffdental.com, which was up and running the day before yesterday, now displays a HTTP Error 503.
From the information available, at least at this point, it appears that Palmer and his hunting crew (including a hunter named Theo Bronkhorst) are accused of committing the following crimes:
(1) They lured (hauling a dead elephant) Cecil the lion out a sanctuary in the Hwange National Park.
(2) They killed Cecil on private property where the owner, Honest Ndlovu, did not have legal permission for hunting lions on his farm.
(3) Palmer used a bow-and-arrow to hunt the lion (and wounded Cecil with an arrow before he died the next day) and according to Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, a woman named Oppah Muchinguri, this is against Zimbabwe’s hunting regulations.
This isn’t the first time that Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer has committed unethical and illegal actions while hunting large animals. In fact, several years ago Palmer and his hunting crew conspired to lie about an illegal kill that they made which landed them in federal court right here in the United States (United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin).
It appears that Palmer was convicted of federal charges (year 2008) for poaching a black bear on or about September 30th, 2006.
It appears that Palmer killed the black bear approximately 40 miles outside of the legal hunting zone (near Phillips in Price County, Wisconsin). Moreover, he attempted to cover up the crime by hauling the bear into a legal area and registering the kill there. Palmer and his hunting crew conspired together and agreed to say that the black bear was killed in Minong, Wisconsin (which is inside a legal hunting zone):
Walter Palmer Bear Hunt Court Documents 1 by tom cleary
Palmer was facing up to five (5) years in prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00 and a period of supervised release (similar to probation) of three (3) years.
It appears that the Court sentenced Palmer to a fine of $2938.00 and one year of probation. The plea agreement and sentencing are provide below:
walterpalmer2008-2 by tom cleary
walterpalmer2008-3 by tom cleary
The other day I signed (along with over 223,600 other people as of today’s date) a White House petition urging Secretary Of State John Kerry and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to fully cooperate with the Zimbabwe authorities and to extradite Walter Palmer promptly at the Zimbabwe government’s request:
Extradite Minnesotan Walter James Palmer to face justice in Zimbabwe.
The petition was opened on July 28th, 2015 and will close on August 27th, 2015. The required 100,000 signatures has already been collected and more than doubled in just six (6) days.
According to Reuters the judicial penalty in Zimbabwe for illegally killing a lion is a prison sentence of ten (10) years and a mandatory fine of the equivalent of $20,000.00 US dollars.
An applicable extradition treaty (signed July 25th, 1997 signed and in force as of August 26th, 2000) does exist between Zimbabwe that United States. It appears that, among others stipulations, the following criteria must be satisfied before extradition:
(1) At least one year in jail: The crime must punishable under the laws of both Zimbabwe and the United States by deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty
(2) Dual criminality: Must be an extraditable offense as one punishable under the laws of both Contracting States by deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty. Use of such a “dual criminality” clause rather than a list of offenses covered by the Treaty obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty as additional offenses become punishable under the laws of both Contracting States.
It should be noted that dual criminality does not mean that the both countries must have identical laws. A similar law, or an entirely different law, will suffice as long as the laws are substantially analogous.
Lastly, it appears that Zimbabwe has officially started extradition proceedings. Below is a press release (provided by Reuters) from Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, a woman named Oppah Muchinguri, regarding extradition of Walter Palmer:
We are also providing the 1997 signed (and 2000 in force) Zimbabwe International Extradition Treaty With the United States for review:
Zimbabwe International Extradition Treaty With the United States by Inspector Smith
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