7 August 1997 Edition

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Italy unites against death penalty

Proinsias O Maolchalain in Italy describes an unprecedented campaign to save a man on death row in the United States


The execution by lethal injection in Virginia on Wednesday 23 July at 9.00pm of Joseph O'Dell could have passed unnoticed by the American media and public as just another one of the 45 victims of the death penalty so far this year in the United States.

However months of campaigning on behalf of Italian born O'Dell and thousands of messages of support, some 90% which originated in Italy, made this a less than routine ``procedure'' for State governor George Allen - the man ultimately responsible for the execution.

O'Dell, convicted 12 years ago for the rape and murder of Helen Schartner, defended his innocence to the last. He was supported by both Pope John Paul II and Mother Theresa as well as the President of Italy, Oscar Scalfaro. Even their support was not enough to save him.

The prosecution case was based on the evidence of a cellmate and circumstantial evidence, but doubts remained. US law does not provide for DNA evidence which lawyers for O'Dell say would have proved his innocence.

The Supreme Court refused however to reopen the case. The New York Times argued that the sentence was unconstitutional because the jury had not been informed that a natural life sentence was an option, in accordance with federal law.

More alarmingly, a confession by another prisoner, David Pruett, who has since been executed, to prison officer Kevin Lutz, that he in fact murdered Helen Schartner was not enough to grant an appeal.

In Italy crowds gathered in Rome, Palermo, and other cities in one last desperate attempt to save O'Dell. The protests were organised by a cross party group of Parliamentarians and citizens called ``Nessuno Tocchi Caino'' - Do not harm Caine - and Amnesty International.

The protests were covered live on RAO 2 TV, while Italy's newspapers from the conservative Corriere della Sera, the centrist La Republica to the left wing Il Manifesto, Liberazione and L'Unita all supported O'Dell's campaign.

Such was the level of consensus that even the former fascists of Alleanza Nazionale opposed the execution.

By five to nine in Virginia (3am in Italy) it was clear that Governor Allen would not intervene. Grown men wept, while reporters struggled to find words. On Thursday morning a headline in La Republica captured the public mood here; ``Assassinated by the State''. However the courage of O'Dell and the work of those who sought to save his life was not in vain.

On the day of the execution the all-party Constitution Affairs Commission decided to remove any provision for the death penalty - even in time of war - from the Italian Constitution. The government has vowed to raise the issue at the Commission for Human Rights in Geneva and to press for a moratorium on executions at the UN.

On Thursday 31 July Joseph O'Dell was buried in the Santa Maria di Gesu cemetery of Palermo, the city of which he was made an honorary citizen.

One dissenting voice here asked what does American public opinion think of the campaign for O'Dell in Italy. What will they think of his funeral in Italy?

That the American media and public has been forced to think about this issue at all is a start.

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