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- WORLD, Page 35World NotesBRITAINComing Home To a Cell
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- To the British government, Joe Doherty is simply a killer,
- but in the U.S. the Northern Irishman's fight to evade a life in
- prison has been a political cause celebre. Last week the
- escaped murderer's nine-year legal struggle came to an end as
- he was finally sent home.
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- In May 1980, a member of Britain's Special Air Service was
- killed in a shoot-out in Belfast with Doherty and three other
- I.R.A. members preparing an ambush. Charged with murder, Doherty
- escaped just as his trial was concluding. After his arrest in
- 1983 for entering the U.S. illegally, the British government
- sought his extradition. But a federal judge in Manhattan ruled
- that the murder had been a political act and denied the
- application. Doherty remained in jail, and his cause was taken
- up by members of the Irish-American community, including
- prominent politicians.
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- After extradition was blocked by the courts, the Justice
- Department began trying to deport Doherty. Last month the
- Supreme Court removed the last obstacle when it denied Doherty
- a new hearing. "I found myself seeking the safety and sanctuary
- of the American Dream," he said. "This dream for me will end in
- a nightmare."
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