Updated archive of European Union engagement concerning death penalty in the United States

I have the great honor and pleasure of talking today about the application of the death penalty in Ohio to a delegation of the European Union to the United States. Prior to the meeting, the EU delegation drew my attention to this online archive of (past) EU engagement in the US on death penalty.

This archive includes letters of appeal, official statements and the link, and it has been recently modified to update all the links, going back 18 years. Here is the description that sets up the links that follow:

The EU unconditionally supports the right to life and the right not to be subject to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment— standards recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international human rights agreements, and many national constitutions.

Abolition of the death penalty is a prerequisite for EU membership, and the European Union actively promotes a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty and protests against the practice in individual cases throughout the world.  The EU has insisted that bilateral extradition treaties with non-EU countries automatically preclude the use of the death penalty in all cases of extradited prisoners from EU Member States.

As a global leader in the fight against torture and other forms of ill treatment, the EU works to prevent and eliminate torture and to end the impunity of those responsible.  Through its Guidelines on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, the EU strives to persuade non-EU countries to produce and apply effective measures to outlaw torture.  The EU also champions anti-torture initiatives in international forums, consistently raises its concerns with other countries through political dialogue and bilateral initiatives, and provides substantial funding for relevant projects by civil society organizations.