Rome, Bruxelles, Madrid, Toronto, Berlin, Barcelona, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Puerto Rico, Austin, Dallas, Antwerpen, Wien, Paris, Copenhagen, Stokholm, Bogotà, Santiago (Chile), Abidjan, Lomè, Conakry, Maputo, Windhoek, Dakar, Praia (Prague), Naples, Florence, Reggio Emilia, Venice…
On November 30, monuments in nearly 1000 cities across the globe will light up to celebrate “Cities for Life - Cities Against the Death Penalty”.
The international day “Cities for Life - Cities Against the Death Penalty” is organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and supported by the World Coalition and the European Union. It takes place every year on the anniversary of the day Tuscany abolished the death penalty in 1786. It was the first time a state decided to do away with capital punishment.
“Cities for Life” is an important occasion given to local administrations and civil society to join in the large movement towards the abolition of the death penalty.
There are deeper reasons to reject the death penalty.
The death penalty violates the right to life. The death penalty is based on the concept of retribution: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life."
Retribution is not about protecting society. That is accomplished once the criminal is imprisoned. Rather, it is a way of collectively venting our anger. When we have been offended we have an urge to strike back and make the offender suffer. But vengeance cannot reverse the original act or heal the pain. Instead it arouses and legitimizes our own murderous impulses. Vengeance does violence to the soul and perpetuates violence in society.
Criminals may have grave weaknesses and failings, but they are the weaknesses and failings of humanity. If we deny our human bond with the criminal we implicitly deny our own capacity for evil and become guilty of presumption.
It denies the sacredness of human life, it precludes the opportunity for redemption, and it perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Murder is just the tip of the iceberg of a violent society. The narrow focus of capital punishment diverts our attention from the systemic evils that permeate our society at all levels. Rather than venting our anger on the few, let us work to melt the entire iceberg of violence.
Namasté
The international day “Cities for Life - Cities Against the Death Penalty” is organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and supported by the World Coalition and the European Union. It takes place every year on the anniversary of the day Tuscany abolished the death penalty in 1786. It was the first time a state decided to do away with capital punishment.
“Cities for Life” is an important occasion given to local administrations and civil society to join in the large movement towards the abolition of the death penalty.
There are deeper reasons to reject the death penalty.
The death penalty violates the right to life. The death penalty is based on the concept of retribution: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life."
Retribution is not about protecting society. That is accomplished once the criminal is imprisoned. Rather, it is a way of collectively venting our anger. When we have been offended we have an urge to strike back and make the offender suffer. But vengeance cannot reverse the original act or heal the pain. Instead it arouses and legitimizes our own murderous impulses. Vengeance does violence to the soul and perpetuates violence in society.
Criminals may have grave weaknesses and failings, but they are the weaknesses and failings of humanity. If we deny our human bond with the criminal we implicitly deny our own capacity for evil and become guilty of presumption.
It denies the sacredness of human life, it precludes the opportunity for redemption, and it perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Murder is just the tip of the iceberg of a violent society. The narrow focus of capital punishment diverts our attention from the systemic evils that permeate our society at all levels. Rather than venting our anger on the few, let us work to melt the entire iceberg of violence.
Namasté
