unreasonable, thereby constituting a violation of his right to a timely trial as guaranteed by Article 7(1)(d) of the Charter. B. Alleged violation of the right to life 126. The Applicant contends that the Respondent State has infringed his right to life, as guaranteed in Article 4 of the Charter. According to the Applicant, the violation is in two-fold: Firstly, that he was convicted and sentenced to death without taking into account his mental health condition at the time of commission of the crime; and secondly, that the sentencing process did not adequately consider factors that could mitigate his culpability, including his mental health and good character. The Court will consider these two allegations separately below. i. Imposition of the death penalty without considering the Applicant’s mental health 127. The Applicant avers that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has emphasised that “if, for any reason, the criminal justice system of a state does not, at the time of trial or conviction, meet the criteria for Article 7 of the African Charter or if the particular proceedings in which the penalty is imposed have not stringently met the highest standards of fairness, then the subsequent Application of the death penalty will be considered a violation of the right to life”.36 The Applicant submits that there have been several breaches of his right to a fair trial, which in turn have resulted in the imposition of the death sentence on the Applicant, consequently violating his right to life. 128. The Applicant states that he was sentenced to death after proceedings that failed to comport with the basic standards of right to a fair trial. 36 General Comment No. 3 on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Right to Life (Article 4), p. 10. 32