Statement by the Spokesperson on the executions in Arkansas

The execution of Kenneth Williams yesterday brings the total number of executions to four in eight days in the State of Arkansas, ending the de facto moratorium in place since 2005.

The European Union is strongly and unequivocally opposed to capital punishment. Regardless of the circumstances, the death penalty can never be justified. It remains an unacceptable denial of human rights and dignity and fails to deter crime.

The abolition of the death penalty worldwide is one of the European Union's main objectives and one that we will continue to pursue, raising this issue at all levels with the US authorities and other States that maintain the practice.