Portugal’s Supreme Court Rejects Extradition of George Wright
The saga of George Wright entered into a new chapter on Thursday when Portugal’s Supreme Court blocked the United States' appeal to extradite the fugitive back to the U.S. to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence for a 1962 murder.
The U.S.’s extradition appeal was blocked by Portugal’s Supreme Court, Wright's lawyer Manuel Luis Ferreira confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday. No further details were given because extradition cases in Portugal are conducted in secret.
In November, a Lisbon judge blocked another U.S. appeal to extradite Wright, based on an appeal by Ferreira that Wright had gained Portuguese citizenship while living on the lam for 41 years.
Wright was arrested in Portugal in September after a fingerprint on his Portuguese ID card led a U.S. fugitive task force to the convicted killer.
The United States is seeking his extradition from Portugal to serve the remainder of a 15- to 30-year sentence for the murder of a New Jersey man in 1962.
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