EU Policy On The Death Penalty
Washington, November 1, 2001
The Honorable Roy E. Barnes
Governor of Georgia
State Capitol Building
Constituent Services Room 111
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Governor:
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 humanitarian appeal to spare the life of Mr. José
Martinez High, who has been condemned to capital punishment and is scheduled to
be executed on November 6th, 2001. According to documents filed during
his trial, Mr. High may have been a juvenile at the moment of the crime. He has
furthermore been diagnosed as having a serious mental illness and borderline mental
retardation.
The European Union, as stated in the EU Memorandum on the Death
Penalty, which was shared with you (http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/eumemorandum.htm),
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.
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.
Furthermore, the European Union takes a particular position regarding
the imposition of the death penalty on persons suffering from a mental disorder,
considering that executions under these circumstances degrade the dignity and
worth of the human being. We would like to express our grave concern with the
imposition of the death penalty on José Martinez High. The European Union is of
the opinion that this execution would be in contradiction to the minimum standards
set forth in several international human rights instruments. Among them are the
United Nations Economic and Social Council 1984/50 resolution on the safeguards
for the protection of persons facing the death penalty and resolution 2000/65
adopted at the last session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
which specifically urges all states that still maintain the death penalty "not
to impose the death penalty on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder
or to execute any such person."
We therefore respectfully urge you, Governor, to take these factors
into account and to exercise all powers vested in your office to commute the sentences
of Mr. José Martinez High in accordance with international law.
I thank you in advance for your consideration of this extremely
urgent matter.
Sincerely,
| André Querton |
Javier Ruperez |
Günter Burghardt |
Chargé d'affaires
Embassy of Belgium |
Ambassador of Spain |
Head of the Delegation of the European Commission |
Letter
to Georgia Board of Pardons & Paroles.
Embassy of Belgium,
3330 Garfield Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Tel. (202) 333-6900 - Fax. (202) 333-3079
Homepage : www.diplobel.org/usa/
