United States celebrate Human Rights Day with double execution

December the 10th is International Human Rights Day. Everywhere in the world attention is drawn to issues concerning Human Rights. On this day two people will be executed in the United States.

Relationships between human rights and the United States are difficult. Together with Japan, the United States is the only modern democracy that still uses death penalty in their criminal system, with some states not using this penalty at all and others using it frequently.

Texas plans to execute Kevin Zimmerman this day, while Georgia will end the life of inmate Eddie Crawford. After that day numerous executions are planned. On January the 6 there are 4 executions on the roster.

The United States has had 65 executions this day and 885 executions since it resumed the death penalty in the seventies of the former century. It is one of few nations who still execute minors. These days about 3500 people are lingering on death row, some for periods up to 25 years. About 100 people are freed from death row after they were acknowledged of being innocent.

The most active executioner is state Texas, with more than 300 executions, most under the current president George W Bush while he was a governor of Texas. At the time his nickname emerged in circles of opponents – the Texecutioner.

The United States has clashed with allies and international courts about the active death penalty policy numerous times. The disregard of the right for foreigners to contact their embassy has led to diplomatic dispute, the most notorious being the execution of two German brothers and the row with neighbor Mexico. Also the camp on Guantanamo Bay with possibly terrorist, being held with no proper council and rights, with the possibility that they face execution, isn’t doing the international relations of the United States any good.

Most experts expect that in the end the death penalty will be expelled from the books in the United States. But that moment isn’t anywhere near yet. While electric chair and gas chamber aren’t used frequent anymore, the death chambers in the United States are expected to stay busy places in the near future, to the disgust of most allies of the country who claims to be the biggest defender of human rights.

Richard WAGENAAR
exclusively for PRAVDA.Ru