Death Penalty

Texas Denies EU Call to End Executions

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On the eve of its planned execution of the 400th inmate to be put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the ultimate penalty in 1976, Texas has rejected a call by the European Union for a death penalty moratorium.

Responding to an EU statement denouncing the death penalty as cruel and inhumane, an ineffective deterrent to crime and a practice that is bound to result in miscarriages of justice that cannot later be corrected, Gov. Rick Perry said execution is a “just and appropriate” punishment, reports the BBC. Johnny Ray Conner, 32, is scheduled to be executed in Texas tomorrow for the 1998 murder of a grocery store clerk.

“While we respect our friends in Europe … Texans are doing just fine governing Texas,” says Robert Black, a spokesman for the governor.

There have been 1,090 executions in the U.S. since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

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