Rulings go against man accused in Aquash slaying

By Carson Walker
Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A Canadian man has lost two rulings in his attempt to avoid extradition to the United States to stand trial for the 1975 slaying of fellow American Indian Movement member Anna Mae Pictou Aquash.

Her family sees the latest decision, from the Canadian minister of justice, as a positive step for them, but not a final judgment because John Graham will appeal.

Still, one of Aquash’s two daughters, Denise Maloney Pictou of Halifax, Nova Scotia, said it made her more confident the family someday will find closure.

“It’s not a closed case, but that was the decision we were waiting for,” Pictou said in a telephone interview. “You can’t rush the justice system.”

Graham, a native of the Yukon, has been free on bail in Vancouver, British Columbia, under house arrest.

In March 2005, a judge ordered him committed for extradition. Last month, Canadian Minister of Justice Vic Toews affirmed that decision.

After both rulings, Graham was allowed free on bail, with several conditions.

If Graham’s request for judicial review, or appeal, is accepted, the British Columbia Court of Appeal would consider the rulings from the judge and the minister of justice. If Graham loses there, the only other option is the Canadian Supreme Court, said Christian Girouard, spokesman for the Canadian Department of Justice in Ottawa.

Graham’s lawyer, Terry La Liberte of Vancouver, said the case is not over.

La Liberte said besides Graham’s appeal, there are unrelated cases pending before the Canadian Supreme Court concerning extradition rules. Those decisions could offer Graham some rights he does not currently have, such as the chance to cross-examine witnesses, he said.

“It would be a whole new ball game,” La Liberte said.

Aquash’s death came amid clashes in the mid-1970s between federal agents and AIM. Aquash was among the AIM members who occupied Wounded Knee, S.D., for 71 days in 1973.

U.S. prosecutors have said AIM leaders ordered Aquash’s killing because they suspected she was a government informant. AIM leaders denied the accusation and blamed the government for her death.

Another man, Arlo Looking Cloud, was convicted in 2004 in the slaying. In a videotaped interview, he said he helped drive Aquash from Denver to Rapid City and eventually to the Badlands. Looking Cloud and others have said that’s where Graham shot her.

Graham has acknowledged he was with Aquash before she was killed but has denied having anything to do with the murder. He has said he’s the victim of a witch hunt.

Pictou said closure for the family won’t come until everyone involved with her mother’s murder comes to justice.

“It’s not a matter of the jail time or revenge. It’s a matter of taking responsibility for their actions,” she said.

Timeline of U.S. case against John Graham

* 1973: Anna Mae Pictou Aquash of Nova Scotia takes part in the American Indian Movement’s occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D.

* 1976: Her body is found near Wanblee, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A second autopsy concludes she was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

* 2003: A federal grand jury indicts Graham and Arlo Looking Cloud of first-degree murder committed in the perpetration of a kidnapping. Graham is arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Looking Cloud, a native of Pine Ridge, is picked up in Denver. Looking Cloud returns to South Dakota. Graham fights extradition.

* 2004: Looking Cloud is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Witnesses at the trial testify that Graham shot Aquash. Her body is exhumed from an Oglala, S.D., grave and reburied in Nova Scotia.

* 2005: A Canadian judge rules that Graham should be extradited.

* 2006: The Canadian minister of justice affirms that decision. Graham remains under house arrest in Vancouver.