His remarks came after the case of convicted murderer Antonio Richardson -- who was under age 18 at the time of the crime -- was raised. "We continue to believe that the use of the death penalty on juvenile offenders is not inconsistent with international law," Johnson said.

Following is a transcript of his remarks:

U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation Vienna

STATEMENT ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Delivered by Ambassador David T. Johnson to the Permanent Council Vienna March 1, 2001

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

As the United States noted in its intervention on January 18 and on other occasions, the question of capital punishment is a matter of intense and serious debate in the United States, as well as in numerous international fora.

Each person facing potential capital punishment in the United States is constitutionally provided fair, impartial proceedings, the right to appeal, and the assistance of legal counsel.

Under United States law, an individual sentenced to death is entitled to a fact-finding procedure that affords a full and fair hearing to assess his or her mental competence.

We continue to believe that the use of the death penalty on juvenile offenders is not inconsistent with international law.

In 1991, Antonio Richardson, the defendant whose case has been raised here today, and three of his friends brutally raped and murdered two young women, aged nineteen and twenty. After raping them repeatedly, Mr. Richardson and his friends pushed them off a 70-foot bridge to their death. One of the women's bodies has never been found.

Mr. Richardson was tried and convicted by a jury of murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree. The trial court fixed punishment at death for the first conviction.

Since his conviction, Mr. Richardson has had multiple opportunities to challenge his conviction and death sentence at all levels of the American judiciary. He has raised numerous challenges both to his conviction and sentence in both state and federal court, including two petitions for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court. All of these challenges have been rejected.

Mr. Chairman, the imposition of capital punishment in this case is, we believe, fully consistent with international law. As has been demonstrated by the facts of the case, it is imposed for the most serious of crimes and in accordance with due process.