Resolution on the death sentence handed down on Greg Summers in Texas, USA
Date: 1999-02-11
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: United States, death penalty













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51999IP0188

Resolution on the death sentence handed down on Greg Summers in Texas, USA  


Official Journal C 150 , 28/05/1999 P. 0383 





B4-0188/99Resolution on the death sentence handed down on Greg Summers in Texas, USAThe European Parliament,- having regard to its previous resolutions on the death penalty,A. noting that Greg Summers was convicted on 21 August 1991 and sentenced to death on a charge of conspiracy in the murder of his mother, father and uncle,B. emphasising that Greg Summers was convicted on the basis of an out-of-court accusation by the self-confessed and convicted murderer of his family and that several further doubts may be raised about the propriety of his trial,C. noting that Greg Summers has always maintained his innocence, that his lawyers tabled an appeal against his conviction at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on 30 September 1997 and that no response has yet been given to this appeal,D. noting that two German citizens, the brothers Karl Hinze and Walter Burnhary LaGrand, were sentenced to death on the charges of bank robbery and murder in the State of Arizona in 1984 and are facing imminent execution on 24 February and 3 March 1999,E. whereas the courts have admitted that the two German citizens have been denied their right under the Vienna Convention on consular relations to receive legal assistance through the embassy of their country,F. whereas the demonstrably extremely poor quality of the defence of the LaGrand brothers cannot be seen in isolation from this fact and whereas they have been condemned to death for a crime for which in Germany they would, as minors, have been sentenced at most to several years in a remand home for juveniles,G. whereas, according to Amnesty International, over 70 foreign citizens from 26 countries are currently awaiting execution in the USA, and whereas most of them were not informed at the time of their arrest of their rights under the Vienna Convention on consular relations,H. emphasising once again that the death penalty, especially in those cases where serious doubts exist about the guilt of the accused, must be considered as a violation of human dignity,1. Calls on the United States Administration, and especially the judicial authorities of the State of Texas, to consider favourably the appeal for a review of the trial of Greg Summers;2. Calls on the United States Administration, and especially on the authorities of the States of Texas and Arizona, to commute the death sentence against Greg Summers, Karl Hinze LaGrand and Walter Burnhary LaGrand, and all other pending death sentences;3. Calls on the United States Administration, and especially on the authorities of the States of Texas and Arizona, to abolish the death penalty forthwith and to join in a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty;4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the United States Administration and to the authorities of the States of Texas and Arizona.10