Please note, this is a text only version for the web site, the original letter appeared on ABA letterhead and was signed by President Martha Barnett. VIA FAX (404) 657-7332 AND FEDERAL EXPRESS The Honorable Roy E. Barnes
Dear Governor Barnes: As President of the American Bar Association, I write to express the Association's strong opposition to the execution of Alexander E. Williams, IV, scheduled in Georgia for August 24, 2000. Alexander Williams was 17 years old at the time of his offense. The American Bar Association vigorously opposes the imposition of capital punishment upon any person for any offense committed while under the age of 18. In our view, this contemptible practice is unacceptable in a civilized society, irrespective of guilt or innocence. Internationally, the practice is virtually unheard of and even within the United States, the federal government and 15 of the 38 states that impose capital punishment prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed while under the age of 18. Simply put, the federal government, 27 states and the District of Columbia bar the execution of juvenile offenders. A powerful international consensus against the execution of juvenile offenders has developed. Only six other nations are known to have executed juveniles in the last decade: Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Congo. Yemen has since outlawed execution of juvenile offenders and Pakistan's military government passed a similar law last month. The use of the death penalty on juvenile offenders is directly prohibited by several international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the American Convention on Human Rights. As citizens, persons under the age of 18 cannot vote, serve on juries, make medical decisions for themselves, or enter into contracts. We do not permit children to conduct these activities because we believe that they lack the capacity to fully appreciate the consequences of their actions. it is deeply troubling that we as a democratic society, truncate the political rights of this group because they need protection, yet pass laws in order to execute them. The failure of states to follow the American Bar Association's policy against executing juvenile offenders led, in part, to the call by the Association for the discontinuation of executions until each jurisdiction implements certain basic protections. Another major factor in the Association's call for the halt to executions has been the poor level of legal representation received by many death row inmates. Some have argued that when children commit an adult crime they deserve this ultimate adult punishment. However, the purposes ostensibly served by capital punishment of adults are not served by the execution of juveniles. In light of the characteristics associated with childhood -- impulsiveness, lack of self-control, poor judgment -- we cannot reasonably expect the death penalty to act as a deterrent for other children. Retribution is also an unsatisfactory justification for the juvenile death penalty. The moral force of -- and legal justification for -- taking a human life in retribution is dependent on the degree of culpability of the offender. A child simply cannot be held to the same degree of culpability and accountability for his or her actions to which we hold an adult. Executing Alexander Williams, and others on death row for their crimes committed as children, serves no principled purpose and only demeans our system of justice. We urge you to commute Alexander Williams death sentence. Martha W. Barnett [signature] cc via FedEx and fax: Mr. Walter S. Ray, Chair
Other members of the Board (same address and fax):
bcc: Steve Hanlon
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