EU Statement on the resumption of executions in the US State of Oklahoma

1. The EU deeply regrets the resumption of executions in the US State of Oklahoma, following a six-year de facto moratorium.
    
2. The execution of John Marion Grant on 28 October, and the setting of six additional execution dates in a short period is contrary to the clear trend to dispense with the death penalty in the US, where a growing majority of States have already abolished the death penalty or stopped using it.
    
3. Furthermore, the EU is deeply disturbed by eyewitness reports indicating that Mr Grant died in great distress, reportedly due to his reaction to the drug combination used in his execution. This method had previously resulted in the controversial executions of Clayton Locket in April 2014 and Charles Warner in January 2015, leading to a de facto moratorium and ongoing court proceedings over whether Oklahoma’s protocol of execution violates the US Constitution’s eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Julius Jones is the next person in line to be executed in the US State of Oklahoma, on 18 November 2021. 
    
4. The EU reaffirms its strong opposition to the use of death penalty at all times and circumstances. The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to crime and makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible. 
    
5. We reiterate our call upon those states of the United States that still apply the death penalty to establish a moratorium on the application of capital punishment, as a first step towards its complete 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.