On January 27, Christopher Brown, 28, who was scheduled...

On January 27, Christopher Brown, 28, who was scheduled to be hanged on January 28, was given a 4-day stay by Justice Ellis. He was convicted on February 23, 1996, of the murder of 65 year-old Alvin Smith, who was stabbed 11 times at his home in Kingston and robbed of jewelry and a video cassette recorder. The Court of Appeal dismissed Brown's appeal on December 16, 1996. Brown also lost his appeal to the United Kingdom Privy Council. He had brought a summons seeking a stay because his petitions to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee have not been heard. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights informed the Government that the Commission is unable to process Brown's petition because he has a petition pending before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Brown is complaining about the inhumane conditions in which he is being kept in prison. The judge dismissed his summons, but granted him 4 days in which to appeal his order. While Archbishop Edgerton Clarke said that he supported delays of executions.