2022-02-24 ยท Dublin
Court wants more info in sex offender's fight against extradition to 'inhumane' US
The Court of Appeal has adjourned the extradition appeal of Martin Jude Wall, a 46-year-old Irish national, requiring further information before ruling on his return to the United States. Wall, who pleaded guilty in February 2012 to attempting to entice a child for indecent purposes, was sentenced to a detention period of not less than 240 days and not more than one year. He was remanded in custody last November after Mr Justice Paul Burns ordered his surrender at the High Court. Wall appealed this decision, alleging that Georgia's sex offender registration rules, which prohibit residence within 300 metres of places where children congregate, would force him into homelessness and expose him to inhumane and degrading treatment. Counsel for Wall argued these conditions previously resulted in him living in a tent and facing violence. In response, Patrick McGrath SC, for the Attorney General, stated that Wall is being returned to serve a period of imprisonment, not to live in a tent. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, sitting with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice John Edwards, stated the court had not yet decided whether the alleged circumstances would amount to inhuman treatment. The matter was adjourned, with a future hearing date to be set tomorrow.