EU Policy On The Death Penalty
EMBASSY OF GREECE
Washington, DC
EU Presidency
26 February, 2003
Mr. Terry Jenks, Director
Pardon and Parole Board
4040 North Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 219
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Dear Mr. Jenks,
The European Union has learnt
that Mr. Scott Allen Hain is to be executed in the State of Oklahoma on April
3, 2003. On behalf of the European Union, Greece, as its current president,
together with Italy, its subsequent president, and the European Commission, would
like to make an urgent humanitarian appeal to spare the life of Mr. Hain.
Mr. Hain was 17 years old at
the time of the crime, for which he has been sentenced to death. The European
Union considers that in those countries, which have not yet abolished the death
penalty, this penalty should not be imposed on persons under the age of 18 at
the time of the crime.
The European Union opposes 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 explained at the
EU Memorandum on the Death Penalty (it can be found on the web page
http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/eumemorandum.htm). In countries
that maintain the death penalty, the EU aims at the progressive restriction of
its scope and respect for the strict conditions set forth in several international
human rights instruments, under which the capital punishment may be used.
The EU strongly believes that
the execution of juvenile offenders is contrary to widely accepted human rights
norms and the minimum standards of human rights set forth by the United Nations.
A significant number of treaties, including treaties signed and ratified by the
United States, prohibit such executions, 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 — explicitly forbids the execution of juvenile offenders.
For the abovementioned reasons,
we have requested Governor Henry to grant clemency in favor of Mr. Hain. We therefore
urge you, Mr. Jenks, and your fellow board members, to submit to the Governor
a favorable recommendation regarding the commutation of Mr. Hain’s sentence to
any penalty other than capital punishment in accordance with international law.
Letter
to Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry.
Embassy of Greece
2221 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 939-5800 Fax (202) 939-5824
E-mail: greece@greekembassy.org
Website: http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Root.aspx
