Biography
James Joseph Smyth was one of the Maze prison escapers pursued by British extradition requests in the United States. He was arrested in California in June 1992; his U.S. custody was interrupted by release on bail before his 1996 recommitment and extradition.
Photo: Northern Ireland Prison Service, via Dan Lawton / WildBlue Press. Original-image crop; identified by the source (bottom right, with SMYTH J name board and gallery caption). Source: https://wildbluepress.com/above-the-ground-dan-lawton-photo-gallery/ . Non-free image used at low resolution under this site's educational/memorial fair-use rationale; not an open-license or permission claim.
Birth-year sources
- UK government briefing on U.S. extradition cases — states that James Joseph Smyth was born in 1954.
- U.S. District Court decision in United States v. Smyth — independently states that Smyth was born in Belfast in 1954.
Custody interrupted by bail, not continuous detention from 1992
The Department of Foreign Affairs background note dated September 5, 1996, and attached September 3 roster (original PDF pages 3 and 7) report Smyth free on bail from July 1993, a July 2, 1996 judicial direction returning him to custody, and actual extradition on August 18, 1996. These contradict the former biography claim that he was held without bail from 1992 throughout the litigation. The already recorded July 2–August 18 discrete custody period is not extended across the bail gap. The order date is not treated as a newly discovered independent jail-booking record.
Irish Department of Foreign Affairs background note and attached September 1996 roster
