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Friday, March 20, 2009
Ceremony in Rome Will Celebrate Repeal of Death Penalty in N.M.
By Vic Vela
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE — A Christian anti-death-penalty group in Rome has invited Gov. Bill Richardson to join the city's mayor there for a "special lighting of the Colosseum" to commemorate the state's repeal of the death penalty.
The Community of Sant'Egidio — a leader in the international movement against the death penalty — has requested Richardson's presence for the ceremony at the ancient Roman icon to celebrate "the great step New Mexico is undertaking, in the initiative of its legislators and with your leadership," according to the letter from Sant'Egidio spokesman Mario Marazziti.
"A special ceremony in front of the world, will make your courage a special page of history to inspire others," he says.
Richardson, a Democrat, signed House Bill 285 on Wednesday, which abolished the death penalty, making New Mexico the 15th state without capital punishment and the second state to ban executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the penalty in 1976.
New Jersey did so in 2007, and a Colosseum lighting ceremony was held then, too. The Colosseum, built in A.D. 80, was once the home of death and carnage, where gladiators fought to kill, public executions took place and many early Christians were slain. In the 18th century, Pope Benedict XIV declared it sanctified.
In 2000, after protests there against capital punishment, Roman officials decided to change the color of the monument's lighting from white to gold whenever the sentence of any person condemned to death, anywhere in the world, was commuted.
The letter from Rome was addressed to Richardson two days before he signed the bill and included language nudging him to sign it.
"We are aware of how heavy a decision on this issue must be ...," the letter states. "We would like to express our solidarity and our availability to make known to the whole world your decision, that we hope is a positive one."
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