ANTONIO RICHARDSON

Antonio Richardson -- who was just 16 years old, borderline retarded and neurologically impaired at the time of his offense -- was scheduled for execution on March 7, 2001 in Missouri, but the execution is being DELAYED, NOT COMMUTED. He was convicted of participating in the rape and deaths of two young women and has now all but exhausted any remaining
avenues of judicial relief. His fate will most likely rest with Governor Bob Holden. Originally, Antonio was going to accept a sentence of life in prison in exchange for a plea of guilty, but was pressured to reject  it on the eve of trial by a local community activist. In the sentencing phase of his trial, critical evidence regarding his mental functioning and brain damage was never presented to the jury nor fully considered
 by the sentencing judge. Antonio would be one of the youngest offenders executed in the United States since the reinstitution of the death penalty in 1973. His execution would be contrary to American standards of justice, fairness, and decency as well as international law. This is a call for his sentence to be commuted to life in prison.

RICHARDSON would have been the 700th execution since the US reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Richardson's lawyers appealed for clemency on three grounds
 

EXECUTING JUVENILE OFFENDERS
IS CONTRARY TO INTERNATIONAL LAW

  In continuing to execute juvenile offenders, the United States acts in defiance of substantial international consensus and law. Indeed, such executions have all but ended around the world, except in the United States. In the last decade, the United States has executed more juvenile offenders than all of the world's nations combined. The only other countries that still execute juveniles are Iran, Saudi
 Arabia, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (China, Yemen, and Pakistan have recently abolished the use of capital punishment for juveniles). The death penalty for juvenile offenders is expressly prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the American Convention of Human Rights. While the United States has not yet ratified the CRC and specifically reserved its right to execute juveniles when  ratifying the ICCPR, the execution of Antonio Richardson would further alienate the United States from the international community. Moreover, it would further damage our legitimacy as a world leader in the protection and promotion of human rights, particularly the rights of children.

 Under Missouri law, the Governor has the exclusive power to commute a sentence of death to life in prison. Please write to:

                    Governor Bob Holden
                    State Capitol Building
                    Room 216
                    P.O. Box 720
                    Jefferson City, MO 65102
                    Phone: 573-751-3222
                    Fax: 573-751-1495
                   constit@mail.state.mo.us