EU Policy On The Death Penalty
July 20, 2001
Governor Perry
State Capitol
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Dear Governor Perry,
On behalf of the European Union, Belgium, as current
president, together with Spain, the subsequent president, and the European
Commission, would like to convey to you an urgent appeal to spare the life
of Mr. Napoleon Beazley, who has been condemned to the capital punishment
for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old.
As stated in the EU
Memorandum on the Death Penalty, which was shared with the Governor of
Texas in the past, the European Union is opposed to the death penalty in
all cases and accordingly aims at its universal abolition.
The European Union considers that, in those countries
which have not yet abolished the death penalty, the death penalty should
not be imposed on persons below 18 years of age at the time of the crime.
This approach to juvenile justice is consistent with the spirit and the
letter of several international human rights instruments, which expressly
prohibit the execution of juveniles, specifically the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on
Human Rights. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) - to which the United States is a party -
expressly forbids the execution of people whose crime was committed when
they were under 18 years of age. The EU considers that this would be
contrary to generally accepted human rights norms.
We therefore respectfully urge you, Governor, as we have
also urged the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles of Texas, to
take the aforementioned factors into account and to exercise all
powers vested in your office to commute Mr. Napoleon Beazley's sentence
to any penalty other than capital punishment as is compatible with
international law.
Sincerely,
| Alex Reyn |
Agustin Nuñez |
Günter Burghardt |
| Ambassador of Belgium |
Chargé d'Affaires
Embassy of Spain |
Head of the Delegation of the European
Commission |
Letter to Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Links to August 10, 2002 Letters to Governor
and Board
of Pardons and Paroles.
Memo
to Director of Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,
US Department of State.
Links to May 7, 2002 Letters to Governor
and Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Embassy of Belgium,
3330 Garfield Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Tel. (202) 333-6900 - Fax. (202) 333-3079
Homepage: www.diplobel.org/usa/
