EU Policy On The Death Penalty
Washington, August 21, 2000
Mr. Walter S. Ray, Chairman
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Floyd Veterans Memorial Building
Balcony Level, East Tower
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4909
Dear Mr. Chairman,
It has been brought to the attention of the fifteen member states of the European
Union that Mr. Alexander E. Williams, a U.S. citizen, is scheduled to be executed
on August 24 in Georgia.
France, as the current president of the European Union, together with Sweden,
the subsequent president, and the European Commission, would like to convey to
you, Mr. Chairman, and to all the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles
of Georgia, an urgent humanitarian appeal to spare the life of Mr. Alexander E.
Williams.
Referring to the letter handed in to Mr. Roy Barnes, Governor of Georgia, on
June 30, calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, and to the memorandum
joined to it explaining the European Union's position, the European Union would
like to draw your attention to this case.
The European Union is of the opinion that, in the case of Mr. Williams, several
elements happen to be in contradiction with the minimum standards set forth in
several international instruments.
- Mr. Williams was 17 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime.
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 intruments,
which expressly prohibit the execution of juveniles, specifically the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights.
- Mr. Williams suffers from a serious mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia
and schizoaffective disorder with bipolar features). The European Union is gravely
concerned about the imposition of capital punishment on persons suffering from
any form of mental disorder, considering that executions under these circumstances
degrade the dignity and worth of the human person, and are also contrary to international
human rights instruments, such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council
1984/50 resolution on the safeguards for the protection of persons facing the
death penalty.
- Mr. Williams was not afforded all possible safeguards to ensure a fair trial,
especially the possibility for his attorney, at the trial level, to present the
jurors, who sentenced Mr.Williams to death, with either the significant evidence
of childhood physical, mental and sexual abuse or of his mental illness, including
at the time of the facts. Again, the European Union considers that this violates
the strict conditions under which the death penalty may be used, as set forth
in several international instruments.
We therefore respectfully urge you, Mr. Chairman, and the members of the Board
of Pardons and Paroles of Georgia to take all the aforementioned factors into
account and to exercise all powers vested in your office to commute Mr. Williams's
sentence to any penalty other than capital punishment.
Bo Eriksson, Charge d'Affaires, a.i. of Sweden to the US
Delegation of the European Commission
French Embassy Press
Release
Présidence française de l'Union Européenne -
http://www.presidence-europe.fr
