Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Haiti judge orders release of US missionary charged with kidnapping

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A Haitian judge on Monday ordered the release of one of the last two US missionaries out of a group of 10 who were arrested on kidnapping charges following the January 12 earthquake. The judge announced last month that both missionaries would be released, following the release of the other eight members of the missionary group affiliated with the Central Valley Baptist Church of Idaho and the New Life Children's Refuge Charity. Charisa Coulter was released from prison Monday, while Laura Silsby, the group's leader remains behind bars. Silsby and Coulter have consistently denied any wrongdoing and said they only sought to help children who were suffering after the quake. The Americans were charged in connection with their attempt to take 33 children across the Haitian border into the Dominican Republic, where the group stated they hoped to start an orphanage. Haitian authorities asserted, however, that many of the children were not orphans, but had been given up by their parents when the missionaries promised a better life for the children. The 10 were each charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal association. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti, and the death toll has been estimated at 230,000.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).