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Internal Communication Clearance Form NATIONS UNIES UNITED NATIONS HAUT COMMISSARIAT DES NATIONS UNIES OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROCEDURES SPECIALES DU SPECIAL PROCEDURES OF THE CONSEIL DES DROITS DE L’HOMME HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. REFERENCE: UA G/SO 214 (33-27) G/SO 214 (53-24) USA 19/2013 3 December 2013 Excellency, We have the honour to address you in our capacity as Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 17/5 and 16/23. In this connection, we would like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to information we have received concerning the situation of Mr. Askari Abdullah Muhammad, 62, death row prisoner since 1975, who suffers from a serious mental illness. Mr. Abdullah Muhammad is reportedly at risk of being executed in the state of Florida, United States of America. According to the information received: In 1975, Mr. Askari Abdullah Muhammad, also known as Thomas Knight, was reportedly sentenced to death for murder committed in 1974. In 1988, the death sentence was reportedly overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reportedly due to restricted consideration of mitigation evidence by the trial court. In 1996, eight years after the Court of Appeals had ordered the state of Florida either to hold a resentence or commute the death sentence to life, Mr. Abdullah Muhammad was resentenced to death. It is also reported that prior to this, in 1983, Mr. Abdullah Muhammad was again sentenced to death for the murder of a prison guard. After the alleged stabbing of the prison guard, Mr. Abdullah Muhammad was reportedly placed in solitary confinement in allegedly particularly harsh conditions of Q Wing in Florida State Prison where he reportedly remained detained until 1989. It is further reported that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad suffers from serious mental illness. In 1971, he was reportedly hospitalized and was treated for the early stages of schizophrenia. It is reported that during his trial in 1975, one of the experts concluded that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad was legally insane at the time of the crime while three other experts concluded that he suffered from mental illness. When re-sentenced to death in 1996, and later during 1983 trial, Mr. Abdullah Muhammad’s defence counsel had allegedly reported that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad had been suffering from “severely disabling mental illness”. On at least one occasion, a doctor reported that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad had been suffering for many years from a “schizophreniform illness.” It is also reported that at a later stage, when on appeal, Mr. Abdullah Muhammad’s case was remanded for a hearing in the trial court. In 2001, the court had reportedly overturned the death sentence on the grounds of the prosecutor’s alleged withholding of witness evidence indicating that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad may have been suffering from mental illness at the time of committing the murder. However, the death sentence had reportedly been reinstated by the Florida Supreme Court on the grounds that the alleged state misconduct had not changed the outcome. It is further reported that in 2012, a US District Court ordered the state of Florida to hold a new sentencing within a year or commute the death sentence to life, on the grounds that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad’s right to confront a witness at his resentencing had reportedly been violated. In September 2013, the 11th Circuit overturned this ruling. It is also reported that on 21 October 2013, the Florida state Governor signed a death warrant for Mr. Abdullah Muhammad with an execution date set at 3 December. On 18 November, the Florida Supreme Court had reportedly issued a stay of execution and remanded the case to court for an evidentiary hearing on Florida’s revised execution protocol issued in September 2013. It is reported that in this protocol, the State Department of Corrections had replaced pentobarbital, one of the drugs which is reportedly supposed to induce unconsciousness, with midazolam hydrochloride. It is reported that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad’s lawyers are currently challenging the efficacy of midazolam hydrochloride. It is further reported that the Florida Supreme Court stayed Mr. Abdullah Muhammad’s execution until 27 December. If the court rules against him, it is reported that a new execution date could be set for as early as the first week of January 2014. 2 Grave concern is expressed about the allegations that Mr. Abdullah Muhammad may be sentenced to death despite evidence that he suffers from mental illness. If this is so, his execution would be carried out in violation of international law standards governing the application and imposition of the death penalty. Further concern is expressed about the reported prolonged stay of Mr. Abdullah Muhammad in solitary confinement Without in any way implying any conclusion as to the facts of the case, we should like to appeal to your Excellency’s Government to seek clarification of the circumstances regarding the case of Mr. Abdullah Muhammad. We would like to stress that each Government has the obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons. In this respect, we would like to refer your Excellency’s Government to the fundamental principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that the United States of America ratified on 8 June 1992. Articles 3 and 6 of these instruments, respectively, provide that every individual has the right to life and security of the person, that this right shall be protected by law and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. It is generally accepted that the execution of an individual who is mentally ill is incompatible with the prohibition of arbitrariness under these provisions. Furthermore, we would like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty, adopted by the Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984. In particular, Safeguard 3 provides that the death penalty shall not be carried out on persons who have become insane. In addition, resolution 1989/64 of the Economic and Social Council of 24 May 1989, on the Implementation of the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty, recommends in paragraph 1 (d) that States further strengthen the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, eliminating the death penalty for persons suffering from mental retardation or extremely limited mental competence, whether at the stage of sentence or execution. In view of the urgency of the matter, we would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Excellency’s Government to safeguard the rights of Mr. Abdullah Muhammad in compliance with the above international instruments. We would also like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s to paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee. It states that prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7 [on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment] of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted at the 44th session of the Human Rights Committee, 1992). In this regard, we would also like to 3 draw your attention to article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provides that “efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged” (adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990). We would further like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to the 2013 report of the Special Rapporteur on torture to the General Assembly, which states that ““[…] the imposition of solitary confinement of any duration (should be prohibited) for juveniles, persons with psychosocial disabilities or other disabilities or health conditions, pregnant women, women with infants and breastfeeding mothers (see the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners, rule 22, and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, rule 67). No prisoner, including those serving life sentence and prisoners on death row, shall be held in solitary confinement merely because of the gravity of the crime.” (paras. 60, 61, A/68/295). Moreover, it is our responsibility under the mandates provided to us by the Human Rights Council, to seek to clarify all cases brought to our attention. Since we are expected to report on these cases to the Human Rights Council, we would be grateful for your cooperation and your observations on the following matters, when relevant to the case under consideration: 1. Are the facts alleged in the summary of the case accurate? 2. Please provide the details, and where available the results, of any investigation, medical examinations, and judicial or other inquiries carried out in relation to this case. If no inquiries have taken place, or if they have been inconclusive, please explain why. 3. Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure the safety of Mr. Abdullah Muhammad in view of allegations that he suffers serious mental illness. 4. Please provide information on the steps taken to abolish solitary confinement as a punishment, or to restrict its use.
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