01/07/2015 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Marietta Karamanli (France, SOC), the general rapporteur on abolition of the death penalty for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), vehemently condemns the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the use of a controversial drug, midazolam, in the execution of death sentences.
“In light of recent botched executions and secrecy surrounding the composition of lethal drug cocktails, this decision marks a huge step backwards and a missed opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to adequately address the overall constitutionality of the death penalty, which is a cruel and inhuman treatment in itself. In 2011, the European Union instituted an export ban on sodium thiopental, a barbiturate originally used in executions instead of midazolam. I wholeheartedly urge the United States to consider not only the legality of the way in which lethal injections are administered, but the character of the death penalty as a cruel and inhuman punishment in all circumstances,” said Ms Karamanli.
On 29 June 2015, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of a controversial drug, midazolam for executions. The plaintiffs argued that the drug would not serve its intended purpose of rendering the inmate unable to feel pain, thus violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. A 5-4 decision held that the inmates had not shown that the use of midazolam would pose a greater risk than any available alternative sedative. The death penalty is still legal in 31 U.S. states and at the federal level. It has been abolished in all 47 member states of the Council of Europe.