23/09/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Sunday 22 September, the spokesman for the European External Action Service regretted the return of the death penalty in the US state of South Carolina after a 13-year hiatus, with the execution by lethal injection of Freddie Eugene Owens on 20 September. He had been convicted of the murder of a cashier in 1999, of which he claimed to be innocent, and then of the murder of a fellow inmate. “South Carolina has re-joined a small group of US states that continue to rely on this inhuman and degrading punishment. The State has also expanded its execution methods to include firing squads and electrocution, practices that have no place in today’s society”, the spokesman denounced in a press release. He reiterated the EU’s firm opposition to the death penalty. Several executions are scheduled for this week in the United States. (CG)