1. The European Union deeply regrets the execution of Matthew Reeves and Donald Grant, carried out by the US States of Alabama and Oklahoma respectively on 27January 2022.

2. Matthew Reeves was sentenced to death following a non-unanimous jury decision. He was executed for a crime committed when he was merely 18 years old, in 1996, despite strong evidence indicating that he was mentally impaired.

3. The execution of Donald Grant was the third execution in Oklahoma since October 2021, when this State decided to resume the use of the death penalty after a de facto moratorium of almost seven years.

4. The EU again reaffirms its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.

5. The EU believes that the execution of persons with a mental health condition or psychosocial disability is particularly regrettable. It is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and the minimum standards set forth in international human rights instruments.
    
6. The EU, in accordance with its long-standing campaign against the death penalty, reiterates  its call on those States of the USA that have not yet done so to establish a moratorium on executions, as a first step towards complete abolition. We strongly hope that the moratorium on federal executions, introduced in July 2021, pending a review of the Justice Department policies and procedures, will pave the way for a nationwide abolition.  

The following countries align with this statement: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia and Ukraine.