The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Issued Precautionary Measures for Detained Persons in the U.S. on Death Row so far in 2022
By Manni Jandernoa, rising 2L at St. Louis University School of Law
Since the start of 2022, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures for three Americans sentenced with the death penalty who were at “serious and urgent risk of irreparable harm to [their] rights.” When the IACHR grants precautionary measures, the Commission “aims to safeguard the rights at risk “…until the Commission makes an eventual decision on “whether or not there were violations of human rights. In this regard, precautionary measures enable the State concerned to comply with the final recommendations made by the IACHR.” All three Americans who were granted precautionary measures had execution dates set in 2022. The IACHR also continues to maintain its stance in support of the abolition of the death penalty, as explained in their 2011 report.The three precautionary measures are enumerated below:
Resolution No. 12/22 PM 74-22 – Richard Eugene Glossip, United States
The IACHR issued precautionary measures for Richard Eugene Glossip on March 3, 2022. According to the allegations reported in the related press release, Glossip has been held in Oklahoma for 23 years in solitary confinement on death row. It is further alleged in the press release that Glossip “was not adequately represented during the criminal trials against him, claiming negligence by his legal defense in not carrying out an exhaustive investigation into the alleged crimes he was charged with, as well as lack of location of witnesses, non-collection of relevant records and documents, and little performance of cross-examination.”
Resolution No. 10/22 PM 1170-21 – Melissa Lucio, United States
Melissa Lucio’s execution date was set in Texas for April 27, 2022. The IACHR issued precautionary measures for Lucio on February 18, 2022, and further issued a press release on April 22, 2022, urging the United States to withdraw her death penalty. At that time, Lucio had been held in solitary confinement for fourteen years. Ultimately, related or not to the IACHR’s actions, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals granted Lucio a stay of execution. Following the stay of execution, the IACHR issued a press release welcoming the decision. This decision made by the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals also orders the trial court to review four claims to determine whether a new trial should be granted: “that the conviction is based on the use of false and scientifically invalid testimony by the State, that new scientific evidence undermines her conviction, that the State suppressed information favorable to Lucio, and that she is truly innocent.”
Resolution No. 22/22 PM 331-22 – Clarence Wayne Dixon, United States
Clarence Wayne Dixon was issued precautionary measures on May 10, 2022, with an execution date set for May 11, 2022, in Arizona. The related press release recounted the allegations that Dixon is “a person of Navajo origin, who suffers from multiple mental and physical health conditions, such as paranoid type schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, glaucoma with secondary blindness, among others.” Further, it was alleged in the request for precautionary measures that Dixon faced “violations of several of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man particularly in relation to access to justice, due process, and adequate defense.” Before the IACHR could reach a decision on the allegations, Dixon was executed on May 11th, 2022, prompting a from the IACHR. condemnation from the IACHR.