At least two of the 3,263 prisoners currently on death row in the United States hold Dutch nationality, with about 23 fellow Europeans caught in the same predicament.

These figures were released on Tuesday by Reprieve, an organisation dedicated to defending the human rights of prisoners who have been sentenced to death. In Brussels, Reprieve Director Clive Stafford Smith presented a proposal for a European strategy to allow prisoners to be identified at an early stage and provided with legal representation.

Mr Stafford Smith says that when European countries are aware that one of their citizens is on death row, there is much they can do, and in fact they are legally obliged to act. Reprieve is seeking EU funding to establish the identity off all prisoners on death row in the United States. The project is expected to last three years.

According to Reprieve, the project was started two months ago and only a few states have been covered. The organisation is not quite sure about the European identity of a number of people it has found. Reprieve says it is probable that Europeans will also be found on death rows in other states.

Dual citizenship
Mr Stafford Smith says it’s surprising how many convicts in the US don’t actually know their own nationality. He says this is partly due to the relatively large number of inmates with mental disabilities and partly because quite a few prisoners hold dual citizenship.

The Reprieve director has been trying to find support and funding to extend the project so prisoners charged with crimes that could carry a death sentence are can be identified even before their case goes to trial. He cites the example of Mexico, which has set up a programme to provide legal assistance and representation to Mexicans on death row in the United States.

According to Mr Stafford Smith: “In 95 percent of the 298 cases in which one of their 21 lawyers represented a convict they were able to prevent a death sentence." He is convinced that a coordinated European approach to identify European subjects quickly and provide them with legal representation would prove effective.