USA - UN urges death penalty moratorium in US.

UN urges death penalty moratorium in US. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spokesperson Rupert Colville issued a statement today urging the US to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty following a botched execution performed in Oklahoma last week. The OHCHR asserted that the execution of Clayton Lockett, who died of a heart attack following a failed attempt to execute him using a new mixture of lethal injection drugs, could constitute cruel and inhumane treatment by international law standards. Colville also stated that Lockett's execution could run afoul of US law, possibly constituting a violation of the Eight Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits the government's use of "cruel and unusual punishments." He said that this is just one example of why the US should "impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and work for abolition of this cruel and inhumane practice," also citing to an Ohio execution that was prolonged because of complications in January.