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Convicted Murderer who escaped from English prison and fled here given leave to appeal extradition

Summary

High Court judge Mr Justice John Edwards granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court for two convicted murderers facing extradition to the UK. The applicants are Anthony Craig, 66, and Michael Anthony Balmer, 62. Craig was convicted in 1973 of murdering a man in Blackburn, England, and escaped from an English prison before being arrested in Ireland in 2013. Balmer, with a last address in Cornwall, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1984 for killing a woman in Devon, England, in 1983. He was conditionally released in 2011, but his license was revoked in 2012, leading to his arrest in Cork. In July, Mr Justice Edwards indicated he was disposed to surrender both men to UK authorities. Counsel for both applicants argued that surrendering them to serve the balance of their life sentences, after serving the punitive tariff, would constitute preventative detention, violating Article 40.4 of the Irish Constitution. The Minister for Justice argued the issues were not of exceptional public importance. However, Mr Justice Edwards determined that the legal question was of exceptional public importance and in the public interest for the Supreme Court to decide. He reformulated the question to address whether such surrender contravenes the Constitution and is prohibited under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003. The matter was adjourned until October 28, pending the availability of the approved judgment in the Balmer case, after which counsel may serve notice of appeal. No final order was made at this stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Convicted Murderer who escaped from English prison and fled here given leave to appeal extradition. Charges or matters: murdering another man in a park in Blackburn on November 3, 1973, to the UK authorities. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• November 3, 1973 Hearing Or Sentence
• July 28 1983 Hearing Or Sentence
• October 28 Adjournment
• February 14, 2013 Incident
• March 2012 Incident
• 2014-10-07 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report