Demjanjuk Appeal Is Rejected

John Demjanjuk is in the news again. He is the Nazi death camp guard that is fighting to keep from being deported to Germany to stand trial. The 89 year-old had been arrested by immigration officials, but his deportation had been stopped when his family said he was too ill to be deported. A federal judge cleared the way by ruling he could be deported, but they then appealed to the Supreme Court.

This week, Justice John Paul Stevens turned down the former-Nazis request to intervene and block his deportation. He could still appeal to the entire Supreme Court, but it looks like Demjanjuk is fast running out of options. That's a good thing.

Demjanjuk was stripped of his citizenship in 2002 for lying about his World War II position as a guard at Sobibor, when he entered the United States in 1952. Last March, prosecutors in Germany filed charges against him, and issued a warrant for his arrest. It is time for him to be deported to Germany to face those charges.

It matters little that his crimes were over 60 years ago, or that he is 89 years-old and in poor health. The holocaust was a horrible event, and there is no time limit on charging and convicting those who participated, nor should there be.

John Demjanjuk should be deported to Germany to stand trial for his crimes -- as soon as possible.