LEROY ORANGE SPEAKS AT THE UN AND CALLS FOR A GLOBAL MORATORIUM

It is the first time that a former death row inmates addresses to the UNCHR calling for a UN moratorium.

"Thank you Madame Chairperson,
My name is Leroy Orange and I speak on behalf of the Transnational Radical Party that has campaign for a UN moratorium on executions named Hands off Cain.
I spent 19 years on death row for a crime I did not commit. I was imprisoned in Illinois, the first US state to impose a legal moratorium on executions. Former Governor George Ryan imposed the moratorium because of Illinois’ shameful record of wrongful convictions. When he imposed the moratorium, 13 individuals who had been sentenced to death were later found to be innocent. As of today, number of people sentenced to death in Illinois and later found to be innocent has increased to 17.
I am here today because Governor Ryan believed in my innocence, and in the final days of his term, granted me a pardon. In the United States, cases of innocent death row inmates like myself who were saved at the last minute, or, regrettably, executed, has provided the impetus for deep re-consideration of the death penalty. This is contributing to a changing public opinion on the death penalty in the United States..
However, I know that for every death row inmate whose case attracts attention, usually American like myself, there are a thousand in the world who die unnoticed. I’m referring to those executed in China, in Cuba, in Saudi Arabia, in Iraq, in Iran, and in other countries, where stoning, hanging, beheading and death by firing squad are a daily occurrence, and where executions total thousands yearly, with no attention.
The practice of the death penalty has two facets: one in the spotlight of international media attention and the other hidden from view. The flaws of the death penalty in the U.S. have been highly publicized. The second facet - the death penalty in China and under other totalitarian or authoritarian regimes - is marked by indifference. The majority of executions happen in these closed countries. It is time for us to recognize that this is a global problem that requires a global response.
We must try to save all those condemned to death throughout the world. One way to achieve that is through a UN moratorium on executions. Experience has shown that in after one, two or three years of moratorium it is difficult for a state to resume executions and the move often paves the way for complete abolition. (I hope this proves to be the case in Illinois).I am thankful for the opportunity to be addressing this great body today. Only three short months ago, I was locked away in a jail as the State of Illinois sought to kill me. Today I ask the distinguished representatives from all over the world to support the resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty to be introduced by Greece on behalf of the European Union.
I appeal to you to ensure that a moratorium on executions applies not only to the citizens of Illinois like myself, but to inmates who face the death penalty in the United States and around the world.
Thank you."