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EU in call to US on death penalty
The European Union is to renew its call on the United States to abandon the "cruel and inhumane" practice of capital punishment.
Speaking in Washington, high-ranking officials from the EU will challenge all countries - including America - still employing the death penalty to fall in line with the rest of the world.
John Bruton, former Irish Taoiseach and current head of the EU delegation to the United States, will state that the use of capital punishment represents an "unacceptable denial of human dignity".
Renewing the EU's opposition, Mr Bruton will say that the European block "considers capital punishment to be cruel and inhumane" adding that "it also fails to deter criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity".
The former Taoiseach will add: "Miscarriages of justice are inevitable in any legal system - and any miscarriage of justice that results in the death penalty is irreversible."
He will be joined at the briefing by Jonas Hafstrom, the Swedish ambassador to the US. Sweden currently holds the EU presidency.
Mr Hafstrom will note: "The death penalty is being progressively abolished worldwide, and at an accelerating pace. 139 countries have now abolished the death penalty in practice or in law, and although 58 countries still retain it, the number of countries where executions are actually carried out is much smaller.
"Last year 93% of all known executions took place in just five countries - China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US."
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13 Comments so far
Show AllI think I'll move my retirement funds into enlightened states, like the EU.
(I am an American, so keep in mind when reading this that I am commenting on my own government and fellow citizens.)
America is, pure and simple, more barbaric, more like a primitive caveman-like "homo sapien" ape than Europeans are.
Along the same lines, Americans are typically more Puritanical when it comes to sexual matters than Europeans.
Adding to this, we spend as much on our military than all other countries put together, are more predisposed to use the military and to bully others.
Yes, America has a very high percentage of people with a twisted mentality.
Almost all the executions in the US are of poor people. The economic and military crimes committed by the rich have done much more harm. But they are immune.
We have moved ourselves into the category of backwards totalitarian states on important issues like prisons, death penalty, healthcare, militarism, the inequality index. China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. We do not resemble an industrialized democracy any more. We are becoming a banana republic.
Joe
I think there's some momentum building on the issue of banning the death penalty in the US, we should put activist energy into it.
It's now pretty clear that Texas executed an innocent man in 2004:
www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann
Of course, Gov Perry is trying to cover his own ass:
www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/100109dntexperryarson.1cf2d2edb.html
here's the rest of that link:
stories/100109dntexperryarson.1cf2d2edb.html
Or just go here:
http://tinyurl.com/ycfv7yt
We are headed at breakneck speed toward third-world country status. Who is responsible for this?
Capitalism.
"Last year 93% of all known executions took place in just five countries - China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US."
My mother once said that she knew what kind of boy I was by the friends I associated with. Since then my wife and I have raised our own children and "mother was right"!
Witnessing the TV programs and movies that are popular here, I truly believe that too many Americans revel in necrophilia.
It appears more each day that the rest of the world has reached its level of tolerance for the USA.
In reality the USA has been an important 'footnote' in history, supplying the future with a negative example, that could be changed into a positive example if there are enough decent americans with the courage and integrity to make the changes.
If statistics are a reliable indicator then the USA recently signaled to the world that they wanted change; but the members of the formerly dominate mind set are unwilling to allow the changes that the 'majority voted for'.
In other words the American majority are being held captive by an insane minority that are unwilling to live by their own rhetoric of being members of a 'democracy' and accepting the majority decisions. Indeed, they threaten to majority with a take over any day now.
The death penalty is one of many matters the world wished to take up with the USA. The world has now begun to realize that the USA is in reality controlled by a 'rabidly insane' 'conservative' 'religioius dominated' minority that is bent upon violence and the expression of violence in even its administration of 'justice'.
Their logic is twisted. Just one example of many; they will express their 'disgust' with the 'suicide bombers' of Afghanistan and Iraq and elswhre; but never mention the 'collateral damage' of their own military's 'illegal occupatoin' of other nations. Indeed they plan in the future to use more 'drone and remote' controlled 'killing devices'---and "god help those who get in the way"............
'just kill em all and let god sort em out'-----
Death by 'any means' except 'natural' is a form of violence since it requires the final decision based upon 'vengeance'; eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth and a life for a life.
If the majority of the USA can simply decide on a way to prevent the minority , especially the conservative minority from the exercising the control they still possess. The control that for the last thirty years has led the USA into the miserable conditions they now experience. The control that has led the USA to fail at most of its international intrigues, except for the death and destruction they have visited upon so many innocent people in so many parts of the world; they are very good at that.
If they can do this. The USA will become almost overnight a true world leader.
Without that change the USA will simply be a horrible warning for history to hopefully learn from.
"If the USA were another nation the USA would invade the USA to keep the world safe; and they would be justified."
How about those unknown executions by government death squads in Colombia surely in the thousands directed against union organizers and suspected opponents of the government?
Yes, it's a US client state.
AD
How about those unknown executions by government death squads in Colombia surely in the thousands directed against union organizers and suspected opponents of the government?
Yes, it's a US client state.
AD
A preview message comith again. Hey, how "lovely"?
How about those unknown executions by government death squads in Colombia surely in the thousands directed against union organizers and suspected opponents of the government?
Yes, it's a US client state.
AD
Pardon any duplication due to preview message.
How about those unknown executions by government death squads in Colombia surely in the thousands directed against union organizers and suspected opponents of the government?
Yes, it's a US client state.
AD
Pardon any duplication due to preview message.
How about those unknown executions by government death squads in Colombia surely in the thousands directed against union organizers and suspected opponents of the government?
Yes, it's a US client state.
AD