 The ironic thing about my situation is that I was born and raised in St. Louis and I had never even been to the state of Tennessee until I was actually taken down there and handcuffed in shackles and put on trial for the crime that I was ultimately convicted of and sentenced to death and spent 20 years or total 27 years before I was released June 1st of 2012. And it was only because of good people like the people sitting in this room. My family and friends and people that stood up that made it possible for me to be sitting here. There have been major positive developments towards the universal abolition of the death penalty where the 160 countries having either abolished it or else stopped carrying them out. On the other hand where executions are still carried out they disproportionately affect the poor while those who can afford good legal representation are fortunately spared. Whether you live or die depends on who you are, where you come from, what you own, what language you speak, who you know and how much of education you have. When you talk about poverty and the death penalty only being reserved for the poorest people, I was one of them people. The thing is that we have to demand abolition now and we have to do it because as long as it's happening not only are people going to be executed but innocent people going to be executed. Civilized countries have an obligation not simply to punish guilty people but also to ensure that they do not punish innocent people. In the case of the death penalty is even more stark because that penalty is irreversible. We call on all states to demonstrate their commitment to the universal abolition of the death penalty. The UN Human Rights Office opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.