• Press Release

Amnesty USA Reacts to Missouri, Texas Executions

September 10, 2014

CONTACT: Amanda Simon, [email protected], (212) 633-4162

 

(NEW YORK, NY) – Amnesty International USA executive director Steven W. Hawkins responded today to the executions of Earl Ringo, Jr in Missouri and Willie Trottie in Texas. Amnesty opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Particularly troubling are reports of the use of midazolam, a chemical that was used in previous botched executions in Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona.

 

“It is disgraceful that the United States continues to allow this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Even within the U.S., more than a third of the 50 states have abolished the death penalty. Missouri, Texas, and all of the other states that currently retain the death penalty should follow. The U.S. cannot claim to be a leader in human rights while it continues executing its prisoners.”

 

Amnesty USA’s Abolish the Death Penalty landing page has the latest news, statistics and action items on the issue.

 

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

 

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