EU Policy On The Death Penalty
May 7, 2002
Hon. Governor Rick Perry
Attn: Office of General Counsel
PO Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Dear Mr. Governor,
On behalf of the European Union, Spain as its current president, together with
Denmark, its subsequent president, and the European Commission, we would like
to convey to you, as we did in letters of August
10 and July 20, 2001, an urgent humanitarian
appeal to spare the life of Napoleon Beazley who has been sentenced to death and
is now scheduled to be executed on May 28th, 2002.
As stated in the EU Memorandum on the Death Penalty (http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/eumemorandum.htm)
which has been shared with you, the European Union is opposed to the death penalty
in all cases and accordingly aims at its universal abolition, seeking a global
moratorium on the death penalty as a first step.
As we already mentioned to you in previous letters, we are especially worried
by the fact that Mr. Beazley was 17 years old at the time the crime was committed.
The European Union believes that in those countries which have not yet abolished
the death penalty, it should not be imposed on persons who were less than 18 years
of age at the time of the crime. This approach to juvenile justice is consistent
with the spirit and letter of several international human rights instruments which
expressly prohibit the execution of juveniles, specifically the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
American Convention on Human Rights. Article 6 of the 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, Mr. Governor, to take all the aforementioned
factors into account and to exercise all powers vested in your office to commute
Mr. Beazley sentence to any penalty other than capital punishment, in accordance
with international law.
Sincerely,
| Javier Rupérez |
Ulrik Federspiel |
Günter Burghardt |
| Ambassador of Spain |
Ambassador of Denmark |
Head of the Delegation of the European
Commission |
May 7, 2002 Letter to Board
of Pardons and Paroles.
Links to August 10, 2001 letter to Board
of Pardons and Paroles.
Links to July 20, 2001 letter to Board
of Pardons and Paroles.
Memo
to Director of Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,
US Department of State.
Embassy of Spain
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Telephone: 202-452-0100
Website: http://www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm
