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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