the European Union has asked Connecticut's governor and parole board to delay...

the European Union has asked Connecticut's governor and parole board to delay or halt the planned execution of serial killer Michael Ross, the Dutch government said. 
Ross' execution, scheduled for Jan. 26, would be the 1st in New England since 1960.
The Netherlands currently holds the rotating European Union presidency and issued a statement on behalf of all 25 EU member countries. The EU asked Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, "to grant a reprieve to Mr. Ross to allow for deliberation on this complex and emotive issue." It called on the chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles "to exercise all the powers vested in your office to grant clemency." Rell, on Dec. 6, announced she would not issue a reprieve after researching case law, the constitution, state statutes and details of the Ross murders. Ross admitted killing 8 women in eastern Connecticut and New York in the early 1980s, and raping most of his victims. He has been in prison for 20 years - 17 on Connecticut's death row - for 4 murders. In October, Ross told Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford that he had decided not to pursue any further appeals.