A/HRC/31/57/Add.1
(l)
JUA 13/07/2015 Case No. USA 17/2015 State reply: 20/07/2015 Allegation concerning
the case of Mr. David Zink, sentenced to death for murder and executed on July 14,
2015, despite mental health experts attesting that he suffered from psychosocial
disabilities.
670. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of United States of America for its
reply, dated 20 July 2015, to the present communication, wherein he was informed that Mr.
David Zink was executed on 14 July 2015.
671. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2012 report to the General Assembly
(A/67/279), there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a
robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the
context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along
with the resulting illegality of the death penalty when imposed or executed under
circumstances that violate such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if
it has not already done so (para. 74).
672. The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to reconsider whether the use of the
death penalty per se respects the inherent dignity of the human person, causes severe mental
and physical pain or suffering and constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (para. 79).
673. The Special Rapporteur further reiterates to the Government of the United States that
imposing and executing the death penalty on a person with psychosocial disabilities, as is
the case with Mr. Zink, is per se a violation of an existing norm of customary international
law (para. 64). It is also a violation of US constitutional law, as decided by the US
Supreme Court in its Atkins decision.
674. The Rapporteur strongly condemns the execution of Mr. Zink and concludes that the
Government of the United States, in executing Mr. Zink, a person suffering from a
psychosocial disability, violated his rights to life and to be free from torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as provided by articles 2 and 16 of the
Convention against Torture (CAT) and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).
675. The Rapporteur calls upon the Government of the United States to take appropriate
measures in order to abolish the practice of execution in the future, in particular in relation
to persons suffering from disabilities, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and
juveniles.
Uzbekistan
JUA 27/04/2015 Case No. UZB 1/2015 State reply: 26/06/2015 Allegation concerning a
new criminal case brought against human rights defender, Mr. Azamjon Formonov,
approximately two weeks before completing his sentence.
676. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Uzbekistan for its reply, dated 26
June 2015, to the present communication.
677. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government of the
allegation concerning Mr. Formonov’s transfer to a pre-trial isolation facility, new charges
filed against him for alleged “violations of prison rules” prior to his release (as he neared
completion of his sentence), and inadequate medical and dental care. The Rapporteur
acknowledges the information provided by the Government of the State’s inadmissibility of
the use of torture in all its forms. He takes note of the Government’s assertion that Mr.
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