413. The Special Rapporteur visited the United States of America from 21 September to 8 October 1997 to examine in situ the situation of the right to life, in particular in connection with the death penalty and the use of force by law enforcement officials. The Special Rapporteur's findings, conclusions and recommendations with regard to his visit can be found in the third addendum to his report to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1998/68/Add.3). Also reflected in this document are all communications between the Special Rapporteur and the Government relating to the visit.

Information received and communications sent

     414. The Special Rapporteur sent 11 urgent appeals concerning death sentences imposed in the following states: Arizona (1), Georgia (1), Mississippi (1), Missouri (3), Oregon (1), Texas (2) and Virginia (2). The urgent appeals were sent on behalf of the following persons:
     (a) Sentenced to death after a trial alleged to fall short of international fair trial standards, including the lack of adequate defence: Ellis Wayne Felker (13 November 1996), Richard Zeitvogel (10 December 1996), Joseph O'Dell (31 December 1996), Roosevelt Pollard (24 February 1997), Joseph Stanley Faulder (30 May 1997), Mario Benjamin Murphy (14 August 1997), Alan Jeffrey Bannister (3 October 1997) and Kenneth Ransom (16 October 1997);
     (b) Sentenced to death without resort to the right to lodge a legal or clemency appeal: Harry Moore (7 May 1997);
     (c) Sentenced to death, despite mental retardation: Ramon Martinez-Villareal (7 May 1997);
     (d) Sentenced to death, despite being under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime: Azikiwe Kambule (5 June 1997).
     415. The Special Rapporteur is aware that the following seven persons on whose behalf he appealed between 2 November 1996 and 31 October 1997 were subsequently executed: Ellis Wayne Felker, Richard Zeitvogel, Harry Moore, Joseph O'Dell, Mario Benjamin Murphy, Alan Jeffrey Bannister and Kenneth Ransom.

Communications received

     416. The Government provided a reply in the form of a description of legal safeguards provided to defendants in the United States in criminal cases, and in particular those specific to capital cases, in response to the following urgent appeals transmitted by the Special Rapporteur: Ellis Wayne Felker (20 November 1996), Richard Zeitvogel (10 December 1996), Roosevelt Pollard (26 February 1997), Harry Moore and Ramon Martinez-Villareal (13 May 1997), Joseph Stanley Faulder (4 June 1997), Mario Benjamin Murphy (19 August 1997), Alan Jeffrey Bannister (8 October 1997) and Kenneth Ransom (20 October 1997).
     417. In addition, the Government provided further information on the following cases:
     (a) Joseph O'Dell. The Special Rapporteur was informed that his execution was stayed by the Supreme Court on 17 December and that on 19 December the Court agreed to review his case. It was explained that his stay of execution was not related to his claim of innocence, which had been rejected by all 14 judges who reviewed his case, and that DNA testing had, in fact, shown a match between the victim's blood and a blood stain found on O'Dell's jacket (18 December 1996 and 17 January 1997);
     (b) Ramon Martinez-Villareal. The Government provided a summary of the proceedings and subsequently informed the Special Rapporteur that his execution had been indefinitely postponed pending a hearing by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on his petition that he is incompetent to be executed (20 and 23 May 1997);
     (c) Harry Moore. The Special Rapporteur was informed that he was executed as scheduled on 16 May 1997, that his conviction had been subject to automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of Oregon and that his execution was not scheduled until that appeal had been concluded. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was informed that he had had the right to seek executive commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment or an executive pardon (21 May 1997 and 12 June 1997);
     (d) Alan Jeffrey Bannister. The Special Rapporteur was informed of the proceedings and of his execution as scheduled on 22 October 1997 (28 October 1997);
     (e) Azikiwe Kambule. The Special Rapporteur was informed that he was no longer facing the possibility of a death sentence as on 16 June 1997 he had been sentenced to 35 years in prison for carjacking and accessory after the fact to murder (19 June 1997);
     (f) Mario Benjamin Murphy. The Special Rapporteur was informed that he was executed as scheduled on 17 September 1997. It was further emphasized that, even though the Federal District Court Judge and the Federal Appeals Court found that Murphy's claim with respect to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations was barred by his failure ever to have raised the claim in state court, both of the federal courts concluded that Mario Benjamin Murphy had not been prejudiced by the alleged violation, as he had pleaded guilty to murder and was represented by competent, retained counsel throughout the trial proceedings (24 September 1997);
     418. The Government of the United States of America also provided a reply to several cases transmitted during 1996. In response to the cases of Anthony Baez and Annibal Carrasquillo, the Government indicated that the cases were under investigation by the Department of Justice. With regard to the case of Aswon Watson, the Special Rapporteur was informed that the case was under investigation by the United States Attorney's Office in New York and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. The Special Rapporteur was further informed that concerning the case of Frankie Arzuega no information was available from the Department of Justice (18 November 1997).