Jamaican man’s life in State Governor’s hands

Jamaican man’s life in State Governor’s hands



KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - The fate of a Jamaican man on death row in Virginia in the United States now lies in the hands of the state\'s Governor Timothy Kaine.



Edward Bell, who originates from the eastern parish of Portland, was convicted in 2001 for the murder of a policeman in Virginia.



Bell, who has been on death row after being found guilty of the murder of Sergeant Rick Timbrook, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 9PM Thursday.



However, protestors were scheduled to stage a vigil outside the Governor\'s mansion in a bid to avert the execution.



With the clock ticking to his execution deadline, Governor Kaine had not yet decided whether he would grant clemency to Bell.



Earlier this month, diplomats from the European Union wrote to Governor Kaine asking him to spare Bell\'s life.



Petr Kolar, who is the Ambassador from the Czech Republic, which holds the EU\'s rotating presidency, as well as other European diplomats, asked Kaine to spare Bell\'s life on humanitarian grounds as he could be suffering from mental retardation.



International standards and US Supreme Court precedent prohibit the execution of persons deemed to be mentally retarded.



Bell, who has maintained his innocence, was scheduled to be executed last April but has benefited from stays in execution.



Family members say Bell was abused as a child but a psychological screening ordered prior to sentencing was not presented during that phase of his trial.