JAMAICAN officials are "closely monitoring" the case of alleged sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to ensure the 17 year-old boy gets a fair trial in the United States, according to Attorney-General A J Nicholson.

Nicholson said Jamaican officials were providing Malvo with "all possible assistance" that is consistent with "established international norms". Malvo, he said, appeared to be receiving "satisfactory" treatment.

Malvo and John Allen Muhammad face murder charges -- and the death penalty -- for allegedly carrying out a three-week shooting spree that left 10 people dead and three wounded in the Washington, DC area. They're being tried in Virginia, the state some of the shootings occurred.

According to Nicholson, representatives of Jamaica's Consular Service have access to Malvo.

Nicholson was responding to concerns raised by Shelagh Simmons, the co-ordinator for Caribbean Justice, a human rights group based in the United Kingdom, which asked the government about its role in ensuring Malvo's rights were protected.

"The arrangements currently in place relating to legal representation and guardianship appear to be satisfactory," Nicholson said in a December 17 letter to Simmons.

He noted that the prosecution's recent efforts to have Malvo's court-appointed guardian removed on technical grounds were rejected by the court.

"Notwithstanding some reservations on our side regarding process, we also have to be sensitive to the laws and legal processes of sovereign countries, in this case, the United States of America," Nicholson wrote.

Malvo reportedly told investigators that he shot and killed Linda Franklin, an FBI computer analyst, as she was leaving a Home Depot in Fairfax County, Virginia.

MSNBC reported that one law enforcement official had described Malvo as "giggling and laughing" during parts of the late-night interview session.

Malvo's mother, Una Sceon James, was Sunday deported to Jamaica from the United States. She had entered the US illegally.

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