EU Policy On The Death Penalty
EUROPARL-
The Multilingual Web Server of the European Parliament
Minutes of 06/07/2000 - Provisional Edition
Human Rights: Death Penalty in the USA
B5-0613, 0619, 0624, 0631 and 0638/2000
European Parliament Resolution on the Death Penalty in
the United States
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its earlier resolutions to protest against the death
penalty in the USA and elsewhere, in particular its resolutions of 8 October
1998(1), 18 November 1999(2)
and 13 April 2000(3),
A. whereas the decision of the General Affairs Council of 29 June 1998
aimed at strengthening the international activities of the European Union
in opposition to the death penalty 'as an integral part of its human rights
policy' with the universal abolition of capital punishment as a fundamental
goal,
B. dismayed at the execution by lethal injection of Gary Graham in Huntsville,
Texas, on 22 June 2000,
C. noting with dismay that there have been 131 executions in Texas during
the past five years,
D. having regard to the Union's reiterated commitment to seek the adoption
by the United Nations General Assembly of a resolution instituting a universal
moratorium on capital punishment as a first step towards the permanent
universal abolition of the death penalty; deploring the fact, however,
that the lack of coordination within the Union and among the Member States
contributed to the failure of an initiative to this end during the last
United Nations General Assembly,
E. reiterating its serious concern about the sad record which the State
of Texas has built up ever since the USA reinstated the death penalty
in 1976 and since when Texas has executed 7 more juvenile offenders, more
than any other American State,
F. whereas Derek Rocco Barnabei, sentenced to death in the State of Virginia,
USA, in 1993, for the murder of a young woman, is scheduled to be executed
in August 2000,
G. whereas judicial errors often occur, as was recently recognised in
the case of Joaquin José Martinez, who was allowed a new trial after waiting
for several months for the death sentence to be carried out,
H. whereas it appears that the investigations failed to furnish clear
evidence of his guilt and that Mr Barnabei's defence was flawed and insufficient,
I. whereas in the opinion of leading US legal authorities a grave judicial
error has been made in this case,
J. noting that for the first time a wide-ranging national debate on the
death penalty has been launched during the election campaign in the United
States and welcoming the decision by the Governor of Illinois to enact
a moratorium on all executions,
1. Reiterates its deep belief that the abolition of capital punishment
constitutes a fundamental step towards enhancing human dignity, ongoing
developing of human rights and increasing respect for those rights and
calls on the Council to renew its efforts to secure a worldwide moratorium
on all executions;
2. Reiterates its call for the abolition of capital punishment and the
immediate imposition of a moratorium in countries where capital punishment
still exists;
3. Is dismayed at the execution of Gary Graham, who was sentenced for
having shot a man dead in Houston 19 years ago although there were still
doubts about the conviction; points out, furthermore, that in more cases
serious doubts have arisen with regard to capital convictions after execution
has taken place, implying that innocent people may have been put to death;
4. Calls on the Government of the State of Virginia to suspend the execution
order against Mr Barnabei and, given the large amount of evidence that
could influence the sentence handed down, calls on the judicial authorities
responsible to grant Mr Barnabei the possibility of a retrial, since the
interests of justice will best be served by seeking out the truth and
making sure that innocent men are not convicted;
5. Calls on the Presidential candidate to follow the example of the Governor
of Illinois, George Ryan, and to introduce a moratorium on executions
in his State, in the light of the various judicial errors committed, and
reminds the United States Supreme Court of the need to meet its obligations
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and abolish
the death penalty;
6. Urges the US Government again to comply with the request made by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 27 January 2000 that executions
should not proceed until the Commission has examined and ruled on the
case;
7. Calls on the Governor of Virginia, the Rt Hon. James Gilmore, to suspend
the execution of Derek Rocco Barnabei and to commute his sentence;
8. Asks the relevant courts to grant Derek Rocco Barnabei a retrial in
order to examine new evidence that could prove his innocence;
9. Accordingly, calls on the Council to step up substantially the political
dialogue with the US leadership on the abolition of the death penalty
on American territory and invites the French Presidency to come forward
with urgent clear initiatives on this matter;
10. Decides to include the issue of the death penalty as one of the fixed
items on the agenda of each meeting of the EU/USA parliamentary delegation;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council
and to the governments of the Member States, the Government of the USA
and the Governor of Texas, as well as all governments mentioned in this
resolution.
(1) OJ C 328, 26.10.1998, p. 193.
(2) Texts Adopted, Item 8.
(3) Texts Adopted, Item
