UN’s top human rights official welcomes stay of execution in Georgia, US

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, today welcomed reports of a stay of execution of Alexander Williams, who was scheduled to die of lethal injection on Wednesday in the state of Georgia, United States.

The High Commissioner, who is in New York for a UN cabinet meeting, issued a statement adding her voice to calls for the “review and commutation of the death sentence” imposed on Mr. Williams.

Prior to the decision to grant a stay, the High Commissioner had issued an appeal on Tuesday urging a review of the case. On that occasion, she noted that Mr. Williams had been convicted of a killing, which occurred when he was 17 years old, and cited “compelling evidence” that he suffered from serious mental illness.

Restating those points today, Mrs. Robinson also repeated her concerns over allegations that “lawyers representing Mr. William at his trial were incompetent.”