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Court wants more info in sex offender's fight against extradition to 'inhumane' US
Summary
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.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Court wants more info in sex offender's fight against extradition to 'inhumane' US. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- February 8 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2022-02-24 Publication
Why: At the appeal hearing earlier this month Shane Costelloe SC, for Wall, told the court the main reason his client left the US was because of Georgia's strict sex offenders legislation. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He was later sentenced to a detention period of not more than a year and not less than 240 days for attempting to entice a child for indecent purposes. In response, Patrick McGrath SC, for the Attorney General, said Mr Justice Burns had been entitled to reach his decision and that Wall was being returned to the US "to serve a sentence of imprisonment". "This is not a case where the appellant would be required to live in tent," he said. "The likely outcome in this case is that he would receive a period of detention." Last October, the High Court was told that in February 2012 Wall had pleaded guilty through plea-bargain to attempting to entice a child for indecent purposes.; Wall, who was remanded in custody last November, appealed Mr Justice Burns' decision, claiming the judge failed "to carry out any further analysis as to whether the appellant would be subject to inhumane and degrading treatment" on his return to the US.
Places mentioned
- Atlantic. The High Court
- Court of Appeal
- High Court
- The High Court
Topics
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