Justice for Rory McGrath

Justice is being sought for Rory McGrath, aged 64, a dual citizen of Ireland and the US who lives with his wife Alice, and their twin boys in Pearl River, New York.

He was one of the men that volunteered to work at Ground Zero for two years in the direct aftermath of 9/11, which has resulted in some serious respiratory issues and health complications that have since rendered him unable to work.

In May of 2021, Rory was arrested at his family home and charged in connection with the assault of a police officer in Leeds, in 1980. The assault in question, which Rory McGrath maintains he is not guilty of, resulted in a minor, non-life-threatening injury to the police officer who returned to work, lived a full life and has since retired from the police force. Many of the potential witnesses either have very little memory of the details of this altercation or have passed away over the past 42 years.

Rory maintains his innocence but has been unable to live a normal life since May 2021. He spent over a year under house arrest in New York awaiting more information and, in July of 2022, Rory was extradited to the UK where he has since been awaiting trial. He is currently imprisoned in HMP Leeds. He has been separated from his wife and two sons, taken from his home, denied his right to a fair and speedy trial and amassed massive amounts of legal debt in the process. Rory is also confined in his cell for approximately 23 of the 24hrs in the day. He has had multiple requests to be present at his hearings ignored and has also had his trial date postponed on numerous occasions. Rory is not a danger to society in any capacity and deserves better treatment than this. Rory's basic rights have not been granted and his treatment may constitute prosecutorial misconduct. He did not request any deals or settlements as he wishes to clear his name of these charges, despite how the justice system has treated him thus far.

His family hope to raise awareness of Rory's case and hopefully get him back home to New York. They hope that some good will come from shedding light on his situation, the conditions that he has been kept in and the unusual nature of this case being brought to trial after over 40 years. This GoFundMe page has been created to hopefully cover a small portion of the legal fees and expenses that have accumulated over the past 2 years, to relieve pressure from him and his immediate family and help them to face this trial.