He was to be freed later in the day after returning to the Gradignan prison for his official release. Einhorn told presiding Judge Claude Arrighi. The court's chief prosecutor told The Associated Press just after the hearing that he would examine the possible appeal of the rejection. U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment. U.S. authorities wanted Einhorn to return to serve a life sentence following his 1993 conviction in absentia for murdering his girlfriend.
French law calls for a retrial for any person convicted in absentia.
France also has abolished capital punishment, and French authorities had sought guarantees that U.S. prosecutors would not seek the death penalty in the event of a retrial. Einhorn had been convicted by a court in the state of Pennsylvania, which does not provide for a new trial in case of a conviction in absentia. U.S. authorities had wanted Einhorn returned to America to serve a life sentence following his 1993 conviction in absentia for killing girlfriend Holly Maddux of Tyler, Texas, and stuffing her body in a steamer trunk. The French court had postponed the extradition decision three times, saying it needed more documents to make its decision.