AN EXTRADITION request by United States (US) authorities for a mentally ill Jamaican man wanted for murder in the state of New York was lodged at the Ministry of Justice for over a decade with no action, officials have confirmed.

This information, the source explained, will be used to help the Jamaican Government decide whether to give the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has the authority to proceed with the extradition request.

“Before anything can be done, the [justice] minister has to give the authority to proceed,” explained Llewellyn, who was not yet appointed DPP at the time the extradition request was sent to the ODPP.

US authorities renewed their request for his extradition in 2001 using another provisional arrest warrant.

By September the following year, sources claim, Jamaican prosecutors prepared a draft authority to proceed that was reportedly sent to the justice ministry, during the tenure of then minister Dorothy Lightbourne, for her signature.