Petition to Georgia governor &&

[The following is the text of a petition, addressed to the governor of the US state of Georgia and initiated by Amnesty International in Germany. It should be sent to: The Honorable Zell Miller, Governor of Georgia, 203 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA, 30334, USA.]

As the world celebrates the 26th Olympics in Atlanta, we, the undersigned, call on Governor Miller to publicly declare a moratorium on all pending executions and to take steps to commute all death sentences in the state of Georgia. We are convinced that the death penalty has no unique deterrent effect, is imposed on juveniles, the mentally ill and retarded. It is also imposed disproportionately on ethnic minorities, the poor and the powerless. Cruel, arbitrary and irrevocable, we believe that the death penalty is a violation of human rights and we call on Governor Miller to show leadership by taking steps which will lead to the abolition of the death penalty in the United States.

From GLW issue 235