A man convicted of murder in the United States and who was wrongfully deported to Jamaica by U.S. officials has been languishing in a local jail for over six months.

The man, who says his name is Linden Graham, is a national of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Attorney-at-law Patrick Peterkin, who spoke with Mr. Graham Sunday, told The Gleaner that the man has been in Jamaica since July 3, 2006.

Mr. Graham is now in custody at the Kingston Central Police Station.

The Gleaner first learnt of Mr. Graham's story in September last year, but was unable to get relevant questions surrounding his wrongful deportation answered.

Mr. Graham, however, told the attorney that he was carried here by a U.S. Marshal on a Jamaican passport under the name Winston Graham.

Refused to give details

When contacted last year, Hector Lewis, senior superintendent of police, head of the Special Branch division which deals with deportation matters, confirmed that the man was in the custody of the police but refused to give details on the stage of the investigation.

"He has claimed that he is not Jamaican and the immigration people are doing the investigations to ascertain his nationality," SSP Lewis said.

Leighton Wilson, the director of immigration, subsequently confirmed that the case exists, but could offer little detail about it since it was still under investigation.

"We are in the final stages, but we cannot give any information as it may prejudice the case," Mr. Wilson told The Gleaner in September.

A source close to the situation told The Gleaner that the investigations are near completion and that the man "is not a Jamaican".

"It was a mistake made on the part of the U.S. immigration," the source said.

The Gleaner had commenced investigations into the case after being reliably informed by a policeman who said he heard the man's story and knew something was wrong.

"In police work you hear a lot of stories from people in custody. Some of them you believe, some you don't," the policeman said.