Sheinbein, Samuel

(1980- )

   The son of an expatriate Israeli, he was accused of killing, dismembering, and burning Alfredo Enrique Tello Jr. in Maryland in September 1997. He fled to Israel, claimed citizenship, and sought to avoid extradition to face trial in the United States. The Supreme Court of Israel ruled that he would not be returned to the United States to stand trial because of an Israeli law that prohibited the extradition of Israeli citizens. He was to be tried in Israel. The issue generated tension in U.S.-Israel relations. Prior to his trial in 1999, he agreed to a plea bargain deal in which he admitted to the murder and received a 24-year jail sentence.

   The Knesset later amended Israel's extradition statute that blocked Sheinbein's return to the United States. Israelis who live in Israel and are accused of crimes abroad can be extradited under a valid extradition treaty under certain circumstances. However, the law offers no protection to someone who did not reside in Israel, regardless of that person's Israeli citizenship.