Roman Coliseum Illuminated for New Mexico

They call the Roman Coliseum "ground zero" for the death penalty abolition movement. Every time a State in the U.S. or a country in world abolishes capital punishment they hold a ceremony at the Coliseum. KOAT.com from Albuquerque has the report including a video.

Gov. Bill Richardson is in Rome where he attended a special ceremony at Rome's Colosseum Wednesday night.

The ceremony honored the Land of Enchantment for abolishing the death penalty.

The governor traveled to Rome with Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan.

"My state is going to be honored with the lighting of the Colosseum," Richardson said. "And it's a great feeling of pride for my state and also because my state has done the right thing in repealing the death penalty."

Hosting the ceremony is the Community of Sant'Egidio, a prominent international lay organization of the Catholic Church that promotes dialogue, peace and social justice.

The practice of lighting the Coliseum was begun by Sant’Egidio in 2002 when the International Day Cities for Life-Cities against the Death Penalty was launched every year on the anniversary of the first abolition of the death penalty in the world by a state, the Granduchy of Tuscany on Nov. 30, 1786. A special lighting of the Coliseum decided by the Community of Sant’Egidio and the City of Rome, took place in December 2007 when the General Assembly of the United Nations called for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty as a first step toward abolition.

What's your opinion? Do you agree that the United States and the world in general is moving away from the death penalty? Do you think that's a good thing?

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New Mexico Repeals the Death Penalty

CNN reports on the State of New Mexico which became only the second state in recent history to repeal the death penalty with an act of legislation. This brings to 14 the number of States that don't have capital punishment.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill Wednesday repealing the death penalty in his state, his office confirmed.

"Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime," Richardson said in a statement Wednesday.

He noted that more than 130 death row inmates have been exonerated in the past 10 years, including four in New Mexico.

"Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death penalty can never be perfect, my conscience compels me to replace the death penalty with a solution that keeps society safe," he said.

It's very interesting that the governor said "regardless of my personal opinion." Do you think that makes his decision even better in some way?

"Throughout my adult life, I have been a firm believer in the death penalty as a just punishment -- in very rare instances, and only for the most heinous crimes. I still believe that," Richardson, a Democrat, said.

Governor Richardson's decision is a perfect example of what the Executive Director of the NCADP (The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty), Diann Rust-Tierney was talking about. I complained to her that the best argument against the death penalty is the moral one, the fact that it's wrong. She had this to say.

There will always be people who believe the death penalty is not morally abhorrent -- but these people can come to see and agree with us that the death penalty should be repealed-- either because it is more trouble than it is worth or because the other harms that it causes outweigh any measure of good they believe the death penalty provides.

I say she's one smart lady and Governor Richardson's decision proves it. What do you think?

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