The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area courts ruled that Mr. Woods’ handicap did not meet the Supreme Court’s definition of “impaired” and, thus, did not prevent him from being sentenced to capital punishment.81 International safeguards The United States Constitution, which applies to both state and federal convictions, prohibits the imposition of the death sentence if the offender was under the age of 18 when the capital offense was committed,82 is mentally disabled,83 or is legally insane at the time of the scheduled execution.84 Federal law specifically prohibits relying on a defendant’s race or national origin in deciding to seek or impose the death penalty, and the federal death penalty statute additionally requires a sentencing jury to certify that the defendant’s race was not considered in deciding the sentence.85 Fair trial guarantees On 1 April 2009, the United States Supreme Court decided that federally appointed counsel can represent indigent clients in state clemency procedures in capital cases.86 The case raised the issue of whether a federal law that provides lawyers for part of appeals by indigent death-row inmates at the state level guarantees them the continuation of that representation through the state clemency process. The law says that such lawyers are to represent their clients in “all available post-conviction processes”, including “proceedings for executive or other clemency”. Unites States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens stated that “[i]n authorizing federally funded counsel to represent their state clients in clemency proceedings, Congress ensured that no prisoner would be put to death without meaningful access to the ‘fail-safe’ of our justice system.” Foreign nationals On 23 October 2009, the United States and European Union signed an extradition agreement that allows European Union Member States to refuse to send suspects 81  “Texas executes Low-IQ convicted Killer”, 3 December 2009, Hands Off Cain Website, <http://www.handsoffcain. info/archivio_news/200912.php?iddocumento=12318014&mover=0>. 82  See Roper v. Simmons, 543 US 551 (2005). 83  See Atkins v. Virginia, 536 US 304 (2002). 84  See Ford v. Wainwright, 477 US 399 (1986). 85  Response from the Delegation of the United States to the OSCE to the ODIHR questionnaire on the death penalty, op. cit., note 67. 86  See Harbison v. Bell, 129 S. Ct. 1481 (2009). 14