Governor Is No Austrian, Official Says
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a citizen of both the United States and Austria, should be stripped of Austrian citizenship for allowing a convicted murderer to be executed, an Austrian politician said.
Schwarzenegger rejected a clemency appeal by triple-murderer Donald Beardslee, which gave San Quentin Prison the green light for California’s first execution in three years Wednesday.
“The death penalty is unacceptable in Austria and Europe. No Austrian citizen is allowed to take part in or order executions,” Peter Pilz, the security spokesman for Austria’s Green Party, told the Austrian Press Agency.
Pilz, whose opposition Green Party is the smallest political group in Parliament, said Schwarzenegger’s support for the death penalty not only violates Austrian law but has damaged the country’s image as a modern peace-loving nation.
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