JAMAICAN IN THE U.S FOR OVER 45 YRS HAD HIS GUILTY PLEA CHANGED TO AVOID DEPORTATION

A West Virginia Supreme Court judge on Wednesday said the Jamaican man, who pleaded guilty in 2010 to felony unlawful assault and then served a prison term that ended May 25, 2013, could withdraw the guilty plea and subsequently avoid immediate deportation.

According to foreign media reports, Orville M Hutton, also known as Mykal G Rasyth, contended he would never have pleaded guilty had he realised he would be automatically deported upon finishing his sentence.

Hutton moved to the United States from Jamaica about 45 years ago.

Ten days prior to his release from prison, Hutton learned from an inmate that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office wanted to deport him due to the guilty plea.

It was also reported that his trial attorney, as well as his post-conviction lawyer, did not advise him about the deportation issue, forcing him to immediately file a petition for the court to rule that an error had been made.

The Supreme Court justices decided that the failure of Hutton’s lawyers to inform him that he could be deported after pleading guilty to the felony denied him a fundamental constitutional right.

They also pointed out that the fact that Hutton was brought to the United States about age nine and never returned, and given that all his immediate family members are in the US, a rejection of the plea bargain would have been rational.

The justices said in light of the evidence, Hutton would be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and stand trial for the offences for which he was indicted.