The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2019 manner.”81 She went on to assert that the death penalty does not serve its purpose as a punishment and the discriminatory way it is imposed is incompatible with the evolving standards of decency in society.82 This decision resulted in the conversion of the remaining eight death row prisoners’ sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of release.83 This development brought the number of states that have abolished the death penalty to 20. The EU delegation to the OSCE recognised and welcomed the abolition of the death penalty in Washington State in a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council on 18 October 2018.84 In the same statement, the 28 EU Member States reiterated their continued opposition to the imposition of the death penalty in all circumstances and reaffirmed that the death penalty is cruel, inhuman and degrading in nature. Another positive development during this reporting period was the moratorium on executions issued by the Governor of California on 13 March 2019.85 This is particularly noteworthy, considering that California has the largest number of death row inmates in the country.86 This executive moratorium represents a reprieve for people under sentence of death in California but does not alter their conviction or sentence in any way. It calls for the repeal of California’s lethal injection protocol and the immediate closure of San Quentin State Prison’s death chamber.87 The Bar Association report The State of Criminal Justice 2019 stated that, in justifying this executive order, the Governor made clear statements about the unfairness of California’s death penalty system, and especially its uneven application “to people of color, people with mental disabilities”, the number of innocent people sentenced to death and the cost.88 In the wake of this moratorium, two Supreme Court judges from California stated in their court opinions that California’s capital punishment system is expensive and dysfunctional.89 81  State of Washington, Respondent, v. Allen Eugene Gregory, Appellant, Supreme Court of the State of Washington, 11 October 2018, p. 2, <https://cases.justia.com/washington/supreme-court/2018-88086-7.pdf?ts=1539270669>. 82  Ibid., p. 25. 83  “Washington Supreme Court Declares State’s Death Penalty Unconstitutional”, Death Penalty Information Center, 12 October 2018, <https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/washington-supreme-court-declares-states-death-penalty-unconstitutional>. 84  “EU statement on the abolition of the death penalty in Washington State, USA,” OSCE Permanent Council, 18 October 2018, <https://www.osce.org/permanent-council/401618?download=true>. 85  “California Governor Announces Moratorium on Executions”, Death Penalty Information Center, 13 March 2019, <https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/california-governor-announces-moratorium-on-executions>. 86  Death Penalty Information Center, “The Death Penalty in 2018: Year End Report”, op. cit., note 76, p. 3. 87  Executive Order N-09-19, 13 March 2019, <https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/3.13.19EO-N-09-19.pdf>. 88  Tabak, op. cit., note 63, p. 247. 89  Ibid. 24