28211: Craig (news) Woman Reaches Plea Deal in Smuggling Case (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From:  Dan Craig


March 31, 2006


 Woman Reaches Plea Deal in Smuggling Case

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:55 p.m. ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A Haitian woman facing federal charges after a 
human skull was found in her luggage has reached a plea deal, her lawyer said 
Friday.

As a result, Myrlene Severe, 30, a permanent U.S. resident, may avoid 
deportation, said her attorney, Kenneth Hassett, who announced the deal Friday 
in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

The remains were found when the woman arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood 
International Airport in February from Haiti. She told authorities she intended 
to use it as part of her Voodoo beliefs.

Severe was charged with smuggling a human head into the U.S. without proper 
documentation, failure to declare the head and transporting hazardous material 
in air commerce.

The plea deal would allow her to plead guilty at an April 12 hearing to a 
misdemeanor charge of improper storage of human remains, the South Florida 
Sun-Sentinal reported.

A misdemeanor conviction would less likely lead to deportation, her lawyer 
said.

Severe could have faced up to 15 years in jail. Now she could face less than a 
year in jail, probation and fines.

The U.S. attorney's office said in a statement that the agreement ''accurately 
reflects the totality of the circumstances.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Skull-In-Luggage.html