A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 United States of America (a) JUA 03/12/2013 Case No. USA 19/2013 State Reply: 19/12/2013 Allegations concerning the situation of Mr. Askari Abdullah Muhammad, 62, death row prisoner since 1975, who suffers from a serious mental illness. Mr. Abdullah Muhammad is reportedly at risk of being executed in the state of Florida, United States of America. 602. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of United States of America for its reply, dated 19.12.2013, to the present communication. 603. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that, on the date of the dispatch of the reply, the execution of Mr. Muhammad had been delayed pending a legal challenge. 604. The Rapporteur finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns raised in the initial communication, which prompts him to infer that the Government fails to fully and expeditiously cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13, as well as to comply with its obligation, under international customary law, to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in the Convention against Torture (CAT). 605. In his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects Solitary Confinement, as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. He observed that while solitary confinement for short periods of time may be justified under certain circumstances, with adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State and is running afoul the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, due to the prisoner’s lack of communication, as well as the lack of witnesses inside the prison, solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of torture or ill-treatment. 606. The Special Rapporteur recalls that when used for juveniles, pregnant women, or people with mental disabilities, (A/66/268 and A/68/295), solitary confinement amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or even torture, even if not used indefinitely or for a prolonged period of time. 607. 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 under such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so (para. 74). 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). The execution of persons who are mentally disabled is per se a violation of an existing norm of customary international law. 608. It has come to the attention of the Special Rapporteur, that Mr. Muhammad was executed on 07.01.2015. The Rapporteur strongly condemns the execution and concludes that the Government of the United States, by preventing the solitary confinement and 99