European Union Notes Decision to Commute Death Sentence of Mr. Richard Smith

WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reacting today to the decision to commute the death sentence of Mr. Richard Smith, the Acting Head of Delegation of the European Union Delegation to the United States, Angelos Pangratis, made the following statement:

"The European Union notes the commutation of the death sentence of Mr. Richard Smith to life in prison without parole by the Governor of Oklahoma, Mr. Brad Henry. Together with the Presidency of the European Union, we urged this course of action in a letter to the Governor on April 15, 2010.

The European Union takes this opportunity to state its universal opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and reiterates its goal of universal abolition of the death penalty. If necessary, the immediate establishment of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty could be the first step to its eventual abolition.

The European Union welcomes the global trend towards abolition. It considers that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. It considers capital punishment to be cruel and inhuman, failing to provide deterrence to criminal behavior, and representing an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. Any miscarriage of justice – which is inevitable in any legal system – is irreversible."

SOURCE Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.