early hours of 7 August 1998, before any appeal could be launched. Therefore, any appeal would have been moot and futile because the very subject of the proceedings was no longer within Canadian jurisdiction. 6.9 On the State party’s reference to the conditions of detention in the Special Handling Unit, the author submits that this is the only supermaximum facility of its kind in Canada, and that he was subjected to “abhorrent living conditions”. He also submits that the National Parole Board’s decision to hold him for the full 10 years of his sentence and the subsequent annual reviews maintaining this decision constituted a form of reprieve, albeit temporary, from his return to the United States where he was to be executed. In this regard, the author refers to the discussion of this issue in Pratt and Morgan (Privy Council), where Lord Griffith commented on the anguish attendant upon condemned prisoners who move from impending execution to reprieve. 6.5 The author reiterates that the judge of the Superior Court declined jurisdiction to stay the deportation because the Federal Court had refused to intervene. He argues that although the judge went on to analyse the case on the merits he should not have done so, having declined jurisdiction and that an appeal, had it not been moot, would have been limited to the question of whether he ought to have declined jurisdiction and not whether he had made a case that his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated. 6.10 The author argues that to remove him to a jurisdiction which limits his right to appeal violates article 14, paragraph 5, of the Covenant, and submits that article 6 of the Covenant should be read together with article 14, paragraph 5. On the issue of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s review of his case, the author maintains that the Court refused to entertain any claims of error at trial and, therefore, reviewed the evidence and decided to uphold the conviction and sentence. Issues such as the propriety of jury instructions are excluded from this type of review. 6.6 The author contests the State party’s argument on incompatibility and states that the theory that if the author’s crimes in Canada had gone unpunished a precedent would have been set whereby those subject to execution in one State could commit crimes with impunity in another State, is inherently flawed. On the contrary, the author argues that if death row inmates knew that they would be prosecuted for crimes in Canada this would encourage them to commit such crimes there in order to serve a prison sentence in Canada and prolong their life or indeed commit murder in Canada and stave off execution in the United States indefinitely. If the author had been “removed by way of extradition following apprehension in Canada in 1988, he would have had little in the way of arguments to put forth.” 6.11 Without wishing the Committee to consider the transcripts of the murder trial, the author also refers to alleged errors that occurred during the course of his trial that could have changed the outcome of the case. He refers to a question from the jury which sought to clarify the difference between 1st and 3rd degree murder and manslaughter. The jury’s request was not answered, as the author’s attorney could not be located. When the attorney appeared the next day, the jury was ready to deliver a verdict without receiving an answer to the request for clarification. A verdict of 1st degree murder was then returned. 6.7 The author contests the State party’s arguments on the merits. He confirms that he has no authority for the proposition that detention in Canada for crimes committed in Canada can constitute death row confinement as there is no such recorded instance. The author submits that the mental anguish that characterises death row confinement began with his apprehension in Canada in 1988 and “will only end upon his execution in the United States.” 6.12 The author submits that while a mechanism allowing limited review might be viewed as acceptable in cases in which non-capital crimes have been committed, he contends that this is wholly unacceptable where the defendant’s life hangs in the balance, and when he is barred from having any claim of error at trial reviewed. 6.8 The author rejects as misinterpretation, the State party’s point that the decision in Pratt and Morgan11 is authority for the proposition that a prisoner cannot complain where delay is due to his own fault such as an “escape from custody”. He concedes that the period when he was at large is not computed as part of the delay but this period began from the point of apprehension by the Canadian authorities. He further submits that he was not detained in Canada because of his escape but rather because he was prosecuted and convicted of robbery. 11 6.13 On the possibility of seeking relief under the PCRA, the author confirms that he did indeed seek relief by filing such a motion after he was deported to the United States. This motion was dismissed on 21 July 1999, and by reference to the previous case of Commonwealth v. Kindler, it was argued that the author’s fugitive status had disqualified him from seeking such relief. The author further submits that as his application for relief under the PCRA was Pratt and Morgan v. Jamaica, supra.. 90