Harry’s mother appeals to Biden to ‘ reconsider US position’ on suspect
THE mother of Harry Dunn has urged presidential candidate Joe Biden to reconsider the US’s position on her son’s alleged killer should he win the election.
In a video message to Mr Biden, Charlotte Charles said her “heart goes out” to him after the loss of his son in 2015 – but said her family needed justice in order to “help us on the path” to recovery.
Mrs Charles’s 19- year- old son, inset, was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27, last year.
The US asserted diplomatic immunity for suspect Anne Sacoolas following the crash and she was able to return to her home country – despite later admitting she had been driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds before the teenager’s death.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected an extradition request for 43- year- old Sacoolas after the Crown Prosecution Service charged her with causing Mr Dunn’s death by dangerous driving – describing the decision as “final”. Mrs Charles appealed to Mr Biden to “do your best to amend” the situation – saying Sacoolas “walking free” was “tearing us apart as a family”.
In her message, Mrs Charles said: “I would imagine you are aware of Harry’s case and our campaign – we’ve been running it for a year now.
“Very, very sadly, a year on,
Anne Sacoolas has still not been sent back here to the UK to face our justice system.
“I urge you, should you win on November 3 to please reconsider the position the US has taken against us – and when I say us I don’t just mean myself and the rest of the parents, I mean us as the UK as well.”
Mrs Charles added: “It’s tearing us apart as a family.”
“We are not only trying to live without Harry every day – the pain now is far worse than it was this time last year because we are no longer numb and no longer in shock.”
Urging Mr Biden to take an interest in the case should he win the election next month, Mrs Charles said: “We’ve always thought of the US as an ally and that seems to have completely fallen apart since they allowed Anne Sacoolas to return back to the US.”