26 February 2004 :

Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, Director of Amnesty International USA's Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, released the following statement on the impending execution of Hung Thanh Le, a Vietnamese foreign national who was on death row in Oklahoma and scheduled to die on February 26, 2004: Hung Thanh Le's case demonstrates the numerous flaws in the death penalty system. There is considerable evidence to show that Mr. Le was the victim of gross prosecutorial misconduct. The defence lawyers failed to adequately prepare witnesses and did not introduce mitigating evidence to show that Hung Le suffered from post- traumatic stress disorder as a result of violent experiences in refugee camps when he was a child. And, as a foreign national, Hung Le was not afforded access to consular or other types of assistance to help him overcome language and cultural barriers during post- arrest questioning. According to the US Department of State, consular notification is ''in our view a universally accepted, basic obligation" under customary international law? In the interest of greater justice and compassion, Amnesty International is appealing to Gov. Henry to halt the execution of Hung Le. Amnesty International has actively campaigned on behalf of Hung Le and asked its worldwide network of activists to call on Governor Henry to stop this execution. Proceeding with this execution would be utterly shameful and reprehensible.