Resulting Extradition and Trial
In March 2001, less than a month after the ruling, Burns and Rafay were extradited to the United States with assurances from prosecutors handling the case that they would not seek the death penalty. During the trial in 2004 (it was delayed by a number of factors), prosecutors claimed that Burns and Rafay plotted to kill Rafay's family and share the money from an insurance policy and the sale of the family home. Burns claimed that his confession to undercover RCMP officers that he and Rafay killed Rafay's family, was the result of coercion by the police. Defence lawyers noted that no forensic evidence linked the two men to the crime.
In May 2004, both men were found guilty of three counts of murder and were subsequently sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole.
Burns' family immediately began to fight to have the case overturned on appeal, alleging numerous problems with the investigation and improper rulings by the judge. In 2007, Sebastian Burns' sister Tiffany produced a documentary about coercion by police. The family is continuing its efforts, and a website has been posted that claims to debunk the entire case.
Read more about this topic: United States V. Burns
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