In a habeas petition, a prison escapee from Georgia challenged an extradition order returning him to Georgia to serve the remaining term of a seven-year sentence for robbery imposed in 1972. He argued that a surrender to Georgia authorities would lead to a de facto death sentence since he suffered from AIDS, in violation of the constitutional proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. Here, the appellate court denied the writ. Georgia was entitled to extradition and there was insufficient cause to deny it. A dissenting opinion by J. Johnson concluded that this was a rare instance where the states behavior in the extradition process, involving undue delay and earlier ignored opportunities to pursue extradition, violated petitioners right to due process.
Case Summaries