The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area On 2 May 2010, The American Board of Anaesthesiologists decided to revoke the certification of any member who participates in executing a prisoner by means lethal injection.74 About half of the 35 states that perform executions, including Virginia and North Carolina, require a doctor to be present.75 In Utah, the only state in the United States to offer death-row inmates the choice of a firing squad rather than lethal injection as a method of execution, 3rd District Judge Robin Reese signed, on 3 April 2010, the death warrant for Ronnie Lee Gardner, who chose to die by firing squad. He was executed on 18 June 2010.76 The previous time this method had been used in Utah was in 1996. Statistics Death sentences The number of death sentences handed down reportedly continued to decline for the period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010, reflecting a continuing trend. Though no official data were received, it is believed that the civilian death-row population was slightly less than indicated in the data received last year.77 Executions During the reporting period, 49 individuals were reportedly executed in the United States.78 This number is slightly lower than last year’s statistics, with the number of executions carried out in Texas lower by almost 30 per cent. Of the reported executions, 21 were carried out in Texas, nine in Ohio, four in Virginia, three in Alabama, two each in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Oklahoma, and one in each of Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee and Utah.79 In Texas, Bobby Wayne Woods was executed on 3 December 2009 despite reported pleas from his lawyers that he was mentally impaired.80 In 2002, the United States Supreme Court banned capital punishment for the mentally handicapped, but Texas 74  “Anaesthesiologists and Capital Punishment”, Commentary, American Board of Anaesthesiology, 2 April 2010, < http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/CapitalPunishmentCommentary.pdf>. 75  “Group to censure physicians who play role in lethal injections”, Washington Post, 2 May 2010, <http://www. washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/01/AR2010050103190.html>. 76  “Ronnie Lee Gardner put to death by firing squad”, The Telegraph, 18 June 2010, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7837003/Ronnie-Lee-Gardner-put-to-death-by-firing-squad.html>. 77  As of 1 January 2009, the number of death row inmates was 3,297 according to official data received. 78  Death Penalty Information Centre, Execution Database for 2009 and 2010, <http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions>. 79  Ibid. 80  “Killer With Low I.Q. Executed in Texas”, The New York Times, 3 December 2009, <http://www.nytimes. com/2009/12/04/us/04execute.html>. 13