The use of the death penalty in the United States was strongly criticised by the leader of the European Parliament last night.
Addressing the opening of the Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday evening, Josep Borrell said America was the only democracy that regularly uses the death penalty.
Mr Borrell said the right to life was an absolute right, the essence of human nature, and could not be taken away, even from the worst criminals.
Speaking on the 57th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights, Mr Borrell said the execution in the US last week of the 1,000 thprisoner had placed the ending of the death penalty high on the agenda for the parliament.
He said the Parliament would fight the use of the death penalty, which is in place in 76 countries. More than 95 per cent of executions take place in four countries; the US, China, Iran and Vietnam.
China has the highest number of executions but a lack of information prevents exact figures being known, according to Amnesty International. In China there are more than 6,000 condemned to death.
Mr Borrell said 3,415 people are held on death row in the US. However, he said said there were grounds for optimism as public opinion, particularly in the US was becoming less favourable to the death penalty.
He also noted that the US Supreme Court has abolished the death penalty for minors and the mentally disabled. It was the responsibility of MEPs to convince the political leaders to abolish the death penalty, added Mr Borrell.