A federal magistrate has refused to allow a former Unitarian minister from Beckley to be extradited to Ireland to face trial for his role in a woman's 2002 suicide.

A lawyer for George Exoo argued at today's hearing in Charleston that a treaty between Ireland and the United States does not cover the pending assisted suicide charge.

But federal prosecutors had urged U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Clarke VanDervort to interpret the treaty broadly.

After reviewing all 50 states for similar laws, VanDervort concluded that the treaty does not support extradition.

The 64-year-old Exoo has been in custody since prosecutors began extradition proceedings in June. If convicted on the Irish charge, he would face up to 14 years in prison.

Five years ago, Exoo told numerous media outlets that he and another man sat with Dublin resident Rosemary Toole as she swallowed crushed pills, covered her head with a plastic bag and breathed helium.

Assisted suicide is illegal in Ireland.

A spokesman for Exoo predicts the ruling will prove key in the fight to recognize the importance of the right to die.