NEW YORK, 23 OTT - Un'iniezione letale ha messo fine lunedi'sera in un carcere del Texas alla vita di Gerald Mitchell, 33 anni,condannato per rapina e omicidio quando era ancora minorenne.
La Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti ha respinto un ricorso
dell'ultima orapresentato dai difensori di Mitchell, i quali invocavano l'adozione
diprincipi giuridici internazionali per risparmiare la vita di chi hasbagliato quando ancora minorenne.
Dal carcere di Huntsville, prima di morire Mitchell ha chiesto di
potervedere la madre dell'uomo che aveva ucciso nel 1985, per poterle
chiedereun'ultima volta scusa.
USA:PENA MORTE,NUOVO CASO RIAPRE POLEMICHE ESECUZIONE MINORI
NEW YORK, 23 OTT - I gruppi civili e per la difesa dei
dirittiumani hanno stigmatizzato l' ''inumana'' esecuzione in Texas di un
uomo cheaveva solo 17 anni quando e' stato condannato per rapina e duplice
omicidio.
Gerald Mitchell ha passato meta' della sua breve vita nel braccio
dellamorte di Huntsville, il piu' affollato degli Stati Uniti, dove
altre 17persone attendono la fine dopo essere state condannate per delitti
commessiquando erano ancora minorenni.
Dal 1976 sono state 19 le esecuzioni di questo tipo in Texas, lo
statodell'unione con la palma delle pene capitali.
Mitchell, ucciso da un'iniezione letale alle ore 18:00 locali, le
02:00in Italia, prima di morire ha chiesto di vedere la madre di uno dei
giovaniuccisi nel 1985 per chiederle un'ultima volta perdono.
Alla fine, hanno detto i difensori che ieri avevano tentato un
ricorsodell'ultima ora presso la Corte Suprema, e' stato Mitchell a
confortare ipropri amici e familiari, invitandoli a sorridere perche' andava
''aincontrare Dio''.
La fede del condannato fa parte della trasformazione subita mentre
era incarcere, stando ai difensori che si sono appellati alle norme
internazionalichiamando in causa la giovane eta' di Mitchell quando ha ucciso. La
leggedel Texas pero' permette la messa a morte di minori di 17 anni.
''L'esecuzione non dovrebbe mai essere la conseguenza di un criminegiovanile, non importa quanto orrendo'' ha dichiarato il presidentedell'Associazione nazionale per la salute mentale Michael Faenza,
ricordandoche i minorenni non hanno gli stessi diritti degli adulti ''proprio
perche'sono impulsivi e hanno scarso potere di giudizio''.
''La morte e' una punizione inumana, soprattutto per chi era unadolescente'' quando ha sbagliato, legge un comunicato del gruppo
per ladifesa dei diritti umani Human Rights Watch.
Mitchell era stato condannato per aver ucciso Charles Anthony
Marino, sulmontare di un diverbio mentre Marino, 20 anni, stava cercando di
comprare undollaro di marijuana da Mitchell, che in seguito gli aveva rubatol'automobile. Piu' tardi nella stessa giornata Mitchell aveva
ucciso con unfucile a canne mozze Hector Munguia, 18 anni, per rubargli una
cateninad'oro. La polizia lo aveva arrestato una settimana dopo, mentre si
trovavaalla guida dell'automobile di Marino.
Juvenile Offender Executed in Texas
Gerald Mitchell was executed in Texas on October
22 for a shooting and robbery he committed when he was 17-years old. (Associated
Press, 10/23/01)This
is the 18th execution of a juvenile offender since the death penalty was
reinstated and the only one this year.
Texas has accounted for more than half of the
juvenile offenders executed in the U.S. since 1976.In the past 2 years, only Texas and Virginia have executed
juvenile offenders, and Virginia currently has no such offenders on its
death row. (Death Penalty Information Information Center)
Texas Executes Killer of Two
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Gerald Mitchell,
33, who committed murder when he was 17 was executed by lethal injection
on Monday in the latest controversial death penalty case in the United
States.
Mitchell, 33, was put to death at a state prison
in downtown Huntsville for the 1985 killing of Charles Marino, 20, during
a drug deal gone bad.
He sought clemency on grounds that he was no
longer a violent young man who committed crimes, but a changed and
chastened religious convert who threatened no one.
``I'm a totally different person,'' Mitchell
told the Houston Chronicle. ``Now I'm caring about someone other than
myself. I care not only about my life, but about other people's lives.''
Death penalty opponents protested Mitchell's
execution because they said juvenile offenders should not be subject to
the death penalty.
Mitchell, while strapped to a gurney in the
Texas death chamber, apologized to Marino's mother as she stood in the
nearby room for execution witnesses. He asked if she had gotten his letter.
``Just wanted to let you know I sincerely meant
everything I wrote. I am sorry for the pain. I am sorry for the life I
took from you,'' Mitchell said.
``I am ready for that mansion you promised me,''
he said in a brief prayer.
Mitchell was the 14th person executed this year
in Texas, which leads the nation in capital punishment, and the 253rd in
the state since the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) lifted a
national death penalty ban in 1976.
Of those 253, 10 were men who killed before they
turned 18. Overall, 19 juvenile offenders have been executed in the United
States since the 1976 decision.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International urged Texas to commute Mitchell's sentence to life in
prison, but his fate was sealed when the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday
rejected a last-ditch appeal from his lawyers arguing that the United
States violated international law by putting young criminals to death.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry followed by refusing a
request for a 30-day reprieve.
Mitchell was not as lucky as Napoleon Beazley,
who was set to die in August for a murder he committed at 17. His case
garnered national attention and a Texas court granted an 11th hour stay of
execution to study an appeal.
Texas is one of five states that permit the
execution of people who committed crimes at age 17. Eighteen other states
allow executions for criminals down to the age of 16, said the Death
Penalty Information Center in Washington D.C.
Mitchell was sentenced for shooting Marino to
death and wounding another teenager during a drug deal gone bad on June 4,
1985 in Houston. Later that day, Mitchell also shot to death another
youngster during an attempted robbery.
An all-white jury sentenced Mitchell, who is
black, to death.
Diane Marino expressed no sympathy for Mitchell
because she said she, her husband and daughter were changed, too.
``Our family has not been the same for 16
years,'' she told the newspaper.
Mitchell attorney Tom Moran told reporters last
week the United States was the only country in the world that still
executed juvenile offenders and that it did so in violation of
international law.
For his last meal, Mitchell
requested a bag of Jolly Rancher soft candies