Nonetheless, the president held life and death in his hands, and San , Farrior and their colleagues did not know what he would do. At one point in the conversation, the president noted that the United States also had the death penalty. Yes, Farrior replied, but we are ashamed of it. In the end, the president said, As long as I am in office, I will never sign an order of execution. And I hereby commute the death sentences of all persons sentenced to death.
Life is sacred.
It is only for God to take, not for me. Farrior recalls, It was a spine-tingling moment. It is a measure of the regard in which Stephanie Farrior is held within the international human rights movement that she has been on leave from her job as a Penn State law professor since June 1999 to serve as legal director of Amnesty at its International Secretariat in London. In that demanding role, she helps interpret, define and develop international law on human rights issues throughout the world. In her first week, she met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan 61 in London where the two enjoyed a few moments of Macalester reminiscences to discuss the U.N. role in Kosovo, East Timor and Sierra Leone.