EU Policy On The Death Penalty

The Death Penalty Issue

Letter to Mr. Gerald Garrett, 
Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles,
State of Texas, Austin

Washington, November 7, 2000

 

Dear Mr. Chairman,

It has been brought to the attention of the fifteen member states of the European Union that Mr. John Paul Penry, a U.S.citizen, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on November 16.

On behalf of the European Union, France, as current president, together with Sweden, the subsequent president, and the European Commission, would like to convey to you, Mr. Chairman, and the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles of Texas, an urgent humanitarian appeal to spare the life of Mr. John Paul Penry, who is considered by experts to be mentally deficient.

Referring to the European Union letter sent to you last July and to the memorandum  attached to it explaining the European Union position on capital punishment, including the question of executing mentally retarded persons, the European Union would like to draw your attention to this case.

With a mental age of 6 and an IQ of 54, Mr. Penry has been diagnosed as being mentally retarded. The European Union is gravely concerned about the imposition of capital punishment on persons suffering from mental disorder, considering that executions under these circumstances degrade the dignity and worth of the human person.

The European Union is of the opinion that the execution of Mr. Penry would be in  contradiction with the minimum standards set forth in several international instruments. It would be contrary to international human rights instruments such as 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, Mr. Chairman, and the members of the Board of  Pardons and Paroles of Texas, to take all the aforementioned factors into account and to exercise all powers vested in your office to commute Mr. Penry's sentence to any penalty other than capital punishment as is compatible with international law.