Ambassador Bruton:

One of my tasks is to make démarches on behalf of the European Union in opposition to the death penalty. The European Union is entirely opposed to the death penalty. It believes it is a barbarous way to deal with criminal activity and is ineffective. It is important to state a majority of states in the US do not use the death penalty. Only a small number of states do so. Among those, a smaller number again use it frequently. The démarches are made to individual states.

Ambassador Bruton:

Greater confidence exists in the efficacy of punishment as a deterrent in the US than it does here. Sentences are far longer there and the level of incarceration is approximately six times that in Ireland as a proportion of population. It comes from a certain Old Testament view about punishment which has little resonance, if any, in this country. I would love to see less emphasis on punishment and retribution in the criminal justice system in the United States. We have nothing to learn on this side of the Atlantic not only in respect of the death penalty but also in respect of retribution as a governing principle. I could elaborate but I will not.