Brussels, 29/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 November, High Representative Catherine Ashton welcomed the “brave initiative” of the governor of Oregon (United States), John Kitzhaber, to announce a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and to issue a reprieve for prisoners due to be killed by lethal injection. She called on the other American governments to follow suit. Ashton pointed out that “where the death penalty is involved, any miscarriage of justice or failure of the judicial system can lead to the irreparable loss of human life (…). The elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity.”
Kitzhaber announced on Tuesday 22 November that he would not authorise any further executions in his state for the rest of his term in office. Of the 34 American states which practise the death penalty, just 12 used it in 2010. In total, 46 people were executed in the United States last year. (CG/transl.fl)