US officials keep freed Briton in jail as an illegal immigrant

A BRITISH woman released early from an attempted murder sentence in the United States - a charge which she always denied - has been held in prison because she is deemed an "illegal immigrant".

Sally Croft, 47, who fought extradition to the US for 10 years, was freed by a judge but is being kept in her cell because of American immigration bureaucracy.

When she was extradited against her will, handcuffed to US marshals, Ms Croft, formerly a senior accountant with a large British accountancy firm, was taken through normal immigration channels.

As a result, when a judge released her on Tuesday because of her impeccable behaviour teaching other prison inmates, she was denied her liberty so preparations could be made to deport her.

"Illegal immigrants are usually people who desperately want to get into America and then desperately want to stay there," said her partner, Malcolm Parlett. "In Sally's case, she was desperate to avoid going there and she doesn't want to stay there one second longer than she has to."

The delay in being granted freedom, expected to last one or two days, is the final twist in a Kafkaesque nightmare for Ms Croft and her co-accused, Susan Hagan. The women, former members of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh sect, based in Antelope, Oregon, were accused of plotting to kill a US Attorney, Charles Turner, while tension between the sect and the Antelope community was running at fever pitch in 1985. Mr Turner was never actually harmed.

The women were sentenced to five years in prison in 1995 after being extradited amid a clamour of protest from MPs but were freed by their original trial judge, Malcolm Marsh, who paid tribute to the work they carried out at the Federal Correctional Institute Dublin near San Francisco.

Releasing the women after two years and four months, Judge Marsh said: "In fashioning their sentences, I assumed that the defendants would perform well while in prison. I did not, however, anticipate the magnitude of the defendants' assistance to other inmates and the prison's programmes."

Both women worked as teachers from 9am to 5pm, five days a week, helping inmates with learning difficulties.

Ms Hagan, 50, an aromatherapist, was freed immediately because of the death of her father several days ago. She is expected to attend his funeral today.

"This was the final humiliation for Sally," said Mr Parlett. "She was initially elated but then depressed that they continued to keep her in custody as, of all things, an illegal immigrant. She was also sad that it happened so quickly because she didn't get to say goodbye to any of the friends she made and, because she is being deported, she won't be able to go back to see them. We expect her to be released in a day or two."

No comment was available from the American Embassy in London yesterday. All attempts to penetrate its computerised switchboard proved fruitless.

t Yesterday, The Independent referred to the women's membership of the Bhagwan's sect "at the time of the killing". This was an error as, of course, there was no "killing" .