The EU makes a request

Via the BBC - EU urges Texas to end executions

The European Union has urged the governor of Texas to stop all executions as the state prepares to carry out its 400th death penalty.

[. . .]

The statement from the Portuguese presidency of the 27-nation bloc said: "The European Union strongly urges Governor Rick Perry to exercise all powers vested in his office to halt all upcoming executions and to consider the introduction of a moratorium in the State of Texas."

It continued: "There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment means that miscarriages of justice, which are inevitable in all legal systems, cannot be redressed."

And it is a request that I am sure will not be granted, or at least I would be utterly amazed if it were.

I agree that the death penalty is not really a deterrent. According to what I have read on the matter, studies seem to indicate that both the death penalty and murder are evidence of a society's belief that killing someone is the answer to a problem, whether it be the problem of the individual or the problem of the society. Therefore, the two will continue to go hand-in-hand.

I find it interesting how often the US is finding itself on the receiving end of calls for ending inhumane activities. It is, however, nothing new that the EU would like to see an end to the death penalty.