A United States appeals court upheld the federal conviction of reputed Mexican Drug Lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The court also appreciated the judge who was handling the trial of the case that drew the International attention. The court rejected his request for a new trial and keeping him in prison for life.
Guzman, 64, was sentenced to life behind bars for a massive drug conspiracy that spread murder and mayhem for more than two decades.
He was convicted in February 2019 for allegedly trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine and other drugs into the United States for more than 25 years. He was also involved in money laundering and racketeering.
The court had ordered him to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture along with a sentence of life plus 30 years.
The advocate representing Guzman claimed that Judge Brian Cogan had made rulings allowing a jury to hear faulty evidence at Guzman’s 2019 trial.
However, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected the claims.
“Cogan conducted the three-month trial with diligence and fairness, after issuing a series of meticulously crafted pretrial rulings.”
The lawyers of Guzman argued that the verdict against Guzman was tainted.
“The decision seems like it was decided and written before the argument even occurred. How can there be justice here when the jury was exposed to scurrilous claims against Mr. Guzman which were not part of the government’s case?”
However, the appeals court ruled that the jury was not prejudiced by any extraneous information to which they might have been exposed.
“Any possible prejudice was harmless in view of the overwhelming evidence of Guzman’s guilt.”
Guzman, was considered the most powerful drug lord of Mexico. He ran a cartel that was responsible for smuggling of cocaine and other drugs into the United States during his 25-year reign. The Sinaloa Cartel reached its peak under the leadership of Guzman. It became one of the world’s largest drug trafficking organisations which was responsible for multiple murders and smuggling drugs in the US said the officials.