Brussels, 22/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union “deeply regrets” the execution of US citizen Troy Davis in Georgia, given the level of uncertainty over his guilt, said Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the head of the EU diplomatic corps, Catherine Ashton on Thursday 22 September.
Kocijancic said that the EU had intervened several times to call for the death sentence to be commuted because of the “serious and compelling doubts” that have surrounded this case. “While we are aware of the suffering of the victims of violent crimes and their families, we recall that, with capital punishment, any miscarriage of justice - from which no legal system is immune - represents an irreversible loss of human life”, she added. The spokeswoman repeated the EU's opposition to the principle of capital punishment. “The EU opposes the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and calls for a universal moratorium” as a first step towards a total ban in line with a number of United Nations General Assembly resolutions, she said. The EU believes that the abolition of the death penalty is essential to protect human dignity and for the progressive development of human rights.
Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday. He had been condemned to death in 1991 for the murder of a police officer. The case brought protests from around the world, given the doubts surrounding the testimonies of witnesses. However, on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from Davis's lawyers. (L.C./transl.rt)