ESCAPEE WITH `EXEMPLARY LIFE' FACING PRISON RETURN

DETROIT -- A man who walked away from a Virginia prison farm 25 years ago
and led an "exemplary life" in Michigan under the protection of the
governor may be sent back to face charges, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The Michigan Court of Appeals refused to block the extradition of Alfred
Martin, who was convicted in Virginia of selling $10 worth of marijuana and
sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Then-Gov. William Milliken refused to extradite Martin 22 years ago, in
effect granting him legal asylum in Michigan. But the charges surfaced
again last month, when Martin, 49, was stopped for driving with expired
license plates.

Circuit Judge William Cahalan ruled Monday that he had no choice but to
honor Virginia's request for Martin's return.

After the appeals court sided with Cahalan, Martin's lawyers appealed to
the Michigan Supreme Court and requested an emergency order to block the
extradition. There was no word Tuesday on whether the Supreme Court would
consider the request.

Cahalan said Martin had lived an "exemplary" life since his conviction and
called him and his family "a credit to Michigan."

In a statement asking the judge to give him a chance to exhaust his legal
options, Martin said, "I've worked all my life to be a good citizen and a
good husband and father."

After serving two days on the marijuana conviction, Martin walked away from
the prison farm in Martinsville, Va. He faces charges of escape and
conversion by larceny, stemming from allegations he never paid off a
television and stereo system he bought on an installment plan.

For now, Martin will stay in the Wayne County Jail.

"This man committed several felonies in the state of Virginia. He needs to
come back to Virginia and be tried for them," said Lila Young, spokeswoman
for Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

Martin had established a life in Michigan: He married, raised three
children, went to work as a broker for a mortgage company.

Gov. John Engler signed Martin's extradition warrant on Dec. 4. His
spokesman, John Truscott, said governors have less leeway to ignore
extradition requests due to a series of Supreme Court rulings in the late
1980s.

Martinsville prosecutor Joan Zigler said Martin would have served only
three months had he not escaped. The rest of his 10-year sentence would
have been probation, she said.

If returned to Virginia, Martin could be ordered to serve the entire
10-year sentence, Zigler said. He faces up to five years for escape.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski