Brussels, Aug. 21 (Reuters): The EU urged the governor of Texas today to halt all executions before the US state carries out its 400th death sentence since reinstatement of the penalty in 1976.

“The EU notes with great regret the upcoming execution in the state of Texas,” the Portuguese presidency of the 27-nation bloc said.

Texas is expected to hit the 400 mark tomorrow — putting it far ahead of any other US state — with the execution of Johnny Ray Conner for the 1998 shooting of a grocery store clerk.

“The EU strongly urges governor Rick Perry to exercise all powers vested in his office to halt all upcoming executions and to consider the introduction of a moratorium in the state of Texas,” the EU statement said.

The EU, which today called the death penalty “cruel and inhumane”, is opposed to all capital punishment and has called for its worldwide abolition.

“There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime,” the statement said, adding that its irreversibility meant that miscarriages of justice could not be redressed.