Death_Penalty_2005_nowy.qxd 2005-09-08 17:00 Page 39 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA According to unofficial statistics, 118 foreign nationals were on death row as of 28 May 2005.130 Fair-trial guarantees Racial prejudices In its concluding observations on the periodic report of the United States in 2001, the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination noted with concern that, according to the special rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, there is a disturbing correlation between race, both of the victim and the defendant, and the imposition of the death penalty, particularly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The Committee urged the state party to ensure, possibly by imposing a moratorium, that no death penalty be imposed as a result of racial bias.131 Military commissions The death penalty may be applied in accordance with the military order establishing military commissions to prosecute individuals currently detained at Guantanamo Bay.132 The military order has been widely criticized due to the perceived failure of the trial procedures contained therein to comply with international fair-trial standards. To date, President Bush has designated 15 Guantanamo detainees as eligible for trial by military commission. Of those 15, four were formally charged in 2004 and referred for prosecution.133 On 15 July 2005, the US Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia overturned the 8 November 2004 ruling of a lower court that had resulted in the suspension of the US military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. Innocence As of the end of the reporting period, 119 prisoners had been released from death row since 1973 after being found innocent of the crimes for which they had previously been convicted.135 According to official statistics, seven death-row inmates have been exonerated since 1 January 2004. 130 131 132 133 134 135 www.deathpenaltyinfo.org. Concluding observations of the CERD on the United States, A/56/18, 14 August 2001, Paragraph 396. Military Commission Order No. 1 “Procedures for trials by military commissions of certain non-United States citizens in the war against terrorism”, 21 March 2002, Part 6(g). “Briefing Paper on the U.S. Military Commissions”, Human Rights Watch, revised July 2005, www.hrw.org. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Civil Action No. 04-1519 (JR), United States District Court for the District of Columbia. In accordance with the ruling, a Yemeni national Salim Ahmed Hamdan can be tried by a military commission. Amnesty International Public Statement, AMR/51/113/2005, 21 July 2005. Death Penalty News, Amnesty International, June 2005. 39