The Editor, Sir:

In 2002, Americans were very happy because they had only 16,638 criminal homicides: and they were right because from 1984 to 1993, criminal homicides were 22,000 per year. Au contraire, in the same 2002, in Italy we were very afraid because, with a population that is grosso modo (approximately) one-fifth of the American one, we had 638 criminal homicides, and we were very concerned about it, even if those 638 were less than one-third the homicides we had in 1991. Americans love to think the drop is a benefit of the death penalty. We cannot agree because we are a death penalty-free country. (In Europe, this punishment is strictly forbidden and the majority of the world is abolitionist).

Actually, Italy ended capital punishment in 1888 and had it again only under fascism. In those sad years, the homicide rate was five times bigger that we have now, and, in the 20 years following the definitive end of the death penalty (1948-1968), the homicide rate dropped from five to 1.4. Something like this happened in Canada in the years that followed the end of capital punishment in 1976. Curiously, in the same year, the Supreme Court gave green light to the 'new and improved' American death penalty and, with the shooting of Gary Gilmore (January 17, 1977): the hangman was back in business and the experiment began. Now, after more than 1,000 human sacrifices, we can say with Justice Blackmun: "the death penalty experiment has failed".

I am, etc.,

DOTT. CLAUDIO GIUSTI

Italia

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