Watson family seek US trial

The distraught family of Tina Watson, an American honeymooner who died while scuba
diving off Queensland, will seek justice in the US after an Australian court jailed
her husband for just 12 months.
The family, who are about to leave Australia to return to their home state of
Alabama, will continue to seek an appeal in Queensland's justice system through
state Attorney-General Cameron Dick.
Alabama bubble-wrap salesman David Gabriel Watson, 32, was sentenced to
four-and-a-half years' jail in a Queensland court on Friday after he pleaded not
guilty to his wife's murder and the crown accepted his plea of guilty to
manslaughter.
Tina Watson died during a scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef in October
2003 - just 11 days after the pair married.
Watson will be required to serve only 12 months of the sentence.
Tina's father, Tommy Thomas, said US authorities had wanted to pursue the case in
the beginning, but the family believed Watson should "pay for what he did where he
did it".
"The (Alabama) Attorney-General's office has been recorded as saying we made a
mistake with that decision and I cannot disagree with that because of the obvious
result we saw last Friday," Mr Thomas told reporters in Brisbane.
The Thomas family expects to meet with US authorities early next week to start
proceedings for Watson to be tried in the US on a murder charge.
Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Tony Moynihan said the decision to
accept Watson's plea to manslaughter "was made after a careful and thorough
examination of the admissible evidence, and was not taken lightly".
The crown sought a five-year sentence, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
The family believes a deal was struck to save the cost of a trial because during
court proceedings Judge Peter Lyons said in his sentencing remarks: "You have saved
the community the expense of conducting a trial".
Mr Thomas said the family's treatment at the hands of the DPP was "deplorable", but
the public outcry over the sentencing had grabbed Mr Dick's attention.
"An appeal could give us not the justice Tina deserves, but a little bit more
justice," he said.
"I am convinced if it were given the opportunity of a jury trial here, and if the
same thing can occur back in the United States, he will be found guilty (of
murder)."
Mr Dick says he is carefully considering an appeal and has sought the advice of the
state's solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff QC.
"The ability of the state to appeal sentences is a significant power," Mr Dick said.
"Such decisions should not be taken lightly, nor should they be rushed for the sake
of political expediency."
The state has 28 days to lodge an appeal.