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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared More than 1,000 exposed to dengue in Florida: CDC 13 Jul 2010 Toyota blames driver error for some unwanted speeding 6:31am EDT BP weighing whether to test well cap | Video 3:55pm EDT Muslims seek to add holidays on NY school calendar 12 Jul 2010 Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters 03 Jul 2010 Facebook fights New Yorker's claim of 84 percent stake 12 Jul 2010 Secretive Mexico copper baron thrives despite crises 13 Jul 2010 Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz wed in Bahamas | Video 3:11pm EDT Apple shares slide as iPhone 4 concerns grow 13 Jul 2010 Obama enlists Bill Clinton's aid on economy 2:24pm EDT More than 1,000 exposed to dengue in Florida: CDC 13 Jul 2010 Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters 03 Jul 2010 Muslims seek to add holidays on NY school calendar 12 Jul 2010 Apple shares slide as iPhone 4 concerns grow 13 Jul 2010 Toyota blames driver error for some unwanted speeding 6:31am EDT Dollar falls after Fed minutes | Video 4:16pm EDT Obama enlists Bill Clinton's aid on economy 2:24pm EDT Bailed-out small banks face takeover risk: panel 11:37am EDT Fears grow as millions lose jobless benefits 4:50pm EDT FACTBOX-Foreign companies stepping away from Iran 4:33am EDT Bungled cases show weakness in Mexican judiciary Digg This Tweet This Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Related News U.S. and Russia to swap spies after 10 plead guilty Thu, Jul 8 2010 Drug war hits Mexico's richest city, hurts industry Thu, Jul 8 2010 Mexico state votes signal tough 2012 election race Mon, Jul 5 2010 Mexico state elections stage battle for presidency Mon, Jul 5 2010 Drug killings weigh as Mexican states vote Sun, Jul 4 2010 Related Topics World » A billboard shows a picture of missing four-year-old Paulette Gebara Farah in Mexico City, March 31, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Eliana Aponte By Caroline Stauffer MEXICO CITY | Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:15pm EDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An investigation into a child's disappearance is bungled, a senior politician's kidnap is unsolved and the prime U.S. suspect in a murder is allowed to slip back to California in murky circumstances. A rash of mishandled criminal cases in recent months has exposed gaping deficiencies in Mexico's judicial system at a time when President Felipe Calderon faces his strongest challenge yet from brutal drug cartels. Calderon, who has pinned his presidency on a war against drug gangs in which more than 26,000 people have died since late 2006, announced far-reaching reforms to the justice system more than two years ago to weed out corruption and speed up delays. But recent gaffes by police and prosecutors in high-profile criminal cases have highlighted the festering justice system in a major emerging economy with modern financial, manufacturing, mining and telecoms industries. Last month, the man who oversaw a botched investigation into the disappearance of 4-year-old Paulette Gebara was named attorney general of the populous State of Mexico. Police were ridiculed when they said they found the girl dead in her own bed in Mexico City a week after they had searched the entire house and launched a nationwide campaign to find her in March. Former Senator Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a former presidential candidate and prominent leader in the ruling National Action Party, has been missing since May 15 when his abandoned car was found near his ranch with bloodstains by it. Despite pressure by Calderon to solve the case, authorities abandoned their investigation at the request of the family, who are believed to be using private ransom negotiators, in a further mark of broken confidence in the justice system. Concerns at the way investigations are conducted peaked last month after Bruce Beresford-Redman, a former producer of the hit U.S. television show "Survivor," sneaked home to California under unclear circumstances despite the fact Mexican authorities had named him prime suspect in his wife's murder. "Lack of accountability has left an injured society without answers," said Jose Ortega, president of Mexican group Cause in Common, which files citizen's justice complaints. "People have stopped raising their voices to demand more of their government." DELAYED REFORMS The stakes for getting the justice system to work have never been higher for Calderon, a lawyer by profession. Last month, a gubernatorial candidate for the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was gunned down by suspected drug cartel hitmen in the northern state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico's highest profile political killing in 16 years. No arrests have been made in Rodolfo Torre's murder. Cause in Common estimates that someone is convicted for only 5 of every 100 crimes committed in Mexico. Ortega said that based on government statistics, 91.5 percent of reported crimes go unpunished. Stories abound in Mexico of people jailed without being charged and being tortured into confessions. Guillermo Velez was 33 and worked in a Mexico City gym when he was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of running a kidnap ring. He died the next day in jail, with authorities saying his death was due to natural causes. Nine years on, the prosecutor involved has admitted the charges were false but Velez's father is still campaigning to defend his son. "I will keep fighting until authorities admit the agents tortured and killed my son," he told Reuters. Intimidation, corruption, torture and plain incompetence in investigating crimes are only some of the problems in Mexico's struggling justice system. In 2008, Calderon's administration pushed a constitutional overhaul to reform the country's archaic court system. Most trials are carried out behind closed doors in an antiquated system that relies on written testimony between judges and lawyers, while 40 percent of prisoners in the country's overcrowded jails are still awaiting their day in court, some of them for years, according to rights groups. The constitutional changes seek to make oral trials widespread. They also introduce the presumption of innocence, and allow authorities to detain organized crime suspects for 80 days rather than the previous 72 hours. Implementing the changes is left to the country's states, said Martin Barron, a policing and crime prevention specialist at a government research agency, meaning there could be 32 different interpretations of oral trials in the country. "Corruption means the system hasn't been implemented like it should be," said Maria Elena Morera of Cause in Common. In May, Calderon called on the states to speed up implementation of the reform so that Mexicans can have "access to a transparent and expedited justice system as soon as possible." He said seven states had completed the reforms, while half of the remaining states were still implementing them. Some skeptics say that test-bed oral trials in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most murderous city, have actually led to more intimidation in some cases, as victims and their families are put face to face with perpetrators in court. They say the reforms will only work once institutions, such as law enforcement and courts, are strengthened. "What we want is truth, justice, peace and the right to live a normal life as Mexicans," said Ortega. "Today we don't have that." (Editing by Tim Gaynor and Kieran Murray) World Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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