[Vision2020] Hopefully: Fred Russel Finally to Return to US

[Saundra Lund]

According to another article I read, Russell could still appeal the
Ireland's Supreme Court.  SL


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12936014/
Read Irish reporter's article on Fred Russell

KHQ-TV

Ed Carty, a reporter for the Press Association in Ireland reports on the
latest developments in the Fred Russell case. The following is the
transcript of his article: 

By Ed Carty
One of America's most wanted men is to be extradited to the US to stand
trial for killing three college students in a high speed car crash, the High
Court ruled today. After more than four years on the run, Frederick Russell
will be sent back to Washington State to face several charges over the fatal
pile-up. He could end up serving life in jail. 

Following an extradition battle which has lasted almost seven months, Mr
Justice Michael Peart ruled that the 27-year-old should be returned for
trial. Russell, dressed in a suit and tie, looked relaxed as the judgement
was delivered but his girlfriend Hazel McNaboe, who has been at his side all
along, sobbed and put her head on his shoulder. 

The judge told the High Court all documents required for the extradition
were in order. 

"I have given this matter considerable consideration and having done so I
have concluded that the order for extradition should be made," the judge
said. 

Russell will remain in jail in Dublin for the next 15 days before
arrangements can be made for his return. Comforted by relatives Ms McNaboe
was distraught as her boyfriend was led from court by Irish police. 

Russell, who had been using an alias as he worked and lived in Ireland for
the last number of years will stand trial in America on three counts of
vehicular homicide, similar to causing death by dangerous driving. The
charges relate to a high-speed collision in June 2001 on a State highway in
Washington. During the extradition case the court was told Russell had been
drinking and used cannabis in the hours before the crash. He fled the US
days before he was due to stand trial making his way across the border to
Canada before boarding a flight to London. 

He went on the run across Western Europe before eventually settling in
Dublin. His details along with a picture were posted on the US Marshall's
top 15 most wanted list and he was eventually arrested by Gardai following a
tip-off. An informant spotted him working as a security guard in a clothes
shop in the city centre. When approached by detectives following a request
from American authorities he initially denied he was the man they were
looking for. But distinctive tattoos including a Celtic cross confirmed his
identity. 

Lawyers for Russell claimed that he received a number of death threats after
US prosecutors brought charges against him in 2001. The court also heard
that he was assaulted by friends of those who died in the car crash while
watching a softball game. And in a further plea to the courts in a bid to
block his extradition lawyers alleged that Russell was at grave risk of
abuse if jailed in America. The court heard previously that the prison where
Russell is likely to be held upon his return to Washington state has one of
the highest incidences of male rape in the US. 

On the night of June 4, 2001 near the town of Pullman, Washington, several
students from the nearby state university were returning to campus by car
after a night at the cinema. Suddenly a vehicle allegedly driven by Russell
pulled into their lane and caused the crash that claimed the lives of three
students and left two others with permanent injuries. Russell was slightly
hurt and later charged with drink driving, three counts of vehicular
homicide and several counts of vehicular assault. He was released on bail to
the custody of his father, an attorney and then head of the Washington State
University's Criminal Justice Programme. But he fled the country with the
trial pending.