Attorneys from the law firm Hughes, Fields and Stoby have moved to the court on behalf of condemned prisoner Lawrence Chan to have his sentence commuted to life.Chan, who has been on death row since 1995, is seeking an order that he be released immediately.He is claiming that being under the threat of execution by hanging for such a long time,Nike NFL Jerseys China, is inhuman and /or degrading punishment and in breach of his fundamental rights as guaranteed by Article 141 of the Constitution of Guyana.Chan is also legitimately expecting that a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee dated October 31,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, 2005, to commute his sentence to life imprisonment, would be enforced by the state of Guyana.The motion cites the Attorney General as the respondent and is set to be heard on December 6th.Chan, who claimed in his affidavit that he is an indigenous person of extremely poor origins, was charged along with his brother John and Godfrey Rodrigues,Cheap Jerseys From China, with the murders of Raphael Seecharran and Ramong.He claimed that he was severely beaten by members of the Guyana Police Force and forced to give a confession statement.During the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) of his trial, a statement made by his brother and co-accused John Chan was admitted in the evidence and used against him.At the end of the PI, the Director of Public Prosecutions entered a nolle prosequi (a declaration dropping the case) against John Chan and compelled him to testify against his brother in the High Court.Meanwhile,Cheap Jerseys, the other accused Godfrey Rodrigues died while in prison.Lawrence Chan claimed that at the commencement of the High Court trial in November 1995, he was too poor and unable to retain counsel. He was subsequently assigned a state-appointed attorney who was absent for the first two days of the trial.This was highlighted by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which was subsequently contacted following the exhaustion of all legal channels locally.The Committee considered that in a capital case, where the defence lawyer is absent on the first day of the trial, when he is being appointed as legal aid counsel for the accused, requests adjournment of the trial, the court must ensure that such adjournment provides the accused with sufficient time to prepare his defence together with his lawyer.“It should have been manifest to the judge in a capital case that counsel’s request for only two days,China NFL Jerseys, during which he was engaged in another case was not compatible with the interests of natural justice, since it did not provide ( Lawrence Chan) with adequate facilities to prepare his defence,” the United Nations Committee on Human Rights noted.“In the light of this and in the absence of an explanation by the state party, the Committee concludes that (Chan) was not effectively represented at trial…” the UN Committee added.Chan was convicted of murder and sentenced to death on December 20, 1995, by the then Honourable Chief Justice Cecil Kennard.But according to the UN Committee on Human Rights, the imposition of the death sentence upon conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of the Covenant have not been respected constitutes a violation of Articles 6 of the Covenant.“The Committee notes that the death sentence was passed automatically by the trial court once the jury had rendered its verdict that (Chan) was guilty of murder.…the Committee refers to its jurisprudence that the automatic and mandatory imposition of the death penalty constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life,” the UN Human Rights Committee stated.Chan appealed the conviction but this was dismissed by the court of appeal consisting of Justices Prem Persaud, Maurice Churaman and Lennox Perry.“I have lived with the threat of execution since December 20, 1995. After I was confined to death row I have not been able to leave death row except for rare visits to the infirmary and occasional visits to the library. I am confined to my cell from 3pm until 7am daily,” Chan stated in his affidavit.According to Chan he contracted tuberculosis while on death row.On February 3, 2000, a death warrant was read to him informing that his execution would take place in four days.“I was never invited to attend any hearing of the mercy committee neither was I ever informed of the date on which the said committee would sit and deliberate my application,” Chan stated.A day before he was to be executed, Chan’s attorneys obtained a stay of execution.But the action has not yet been heard or determined by the High Court.He noted that Guyana is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and has ratified the said Cov