HANDS OFF CAIN OFFERS ILLINOIS GOVERNOR HONORARY PRESIDENCY

Rome, January 12- Following the decision of the governor of Illinois to commute the death sentences of the 156 prisoners on death row in the State. Hands off Cain has decided to offer George Ryan honorary Presidency of the association which fights for a universal moratorium on capital executions. Hands off Cain knows well that George Ryan is not a death penalty abolitionist, yet he has the merit of being the first American Governor to introduce, three years ago, a legal moratorium on capital executions, for which Hands off Cain dedicated its 2000 annual death penalty Report. "Since then, in America, cracks have formed on the wall of certainties regarding the death penalty: over the years there has been a decline in capital sentences and executions, public support for the death penalty is at an all time low and the whole system surrounding capital punishment has been widely put into question," noted the organisation.The Governor’s decision to empty death row, which Hands off Cain had asked for with a public appeal in view of the expiration of his mandate, has prompted the abolitionist organisation to also offer an honorary Presidency to George Ryan in a decisive year for the international campaign for a moratorium on executions. Hands off Cain has, in fact, asked the European Union and the Italian government, which will be presiding during the second semester, to present to the UN General Assembly a proposal for a universal moratorium on capital executions. ’’If he accepts the presidency of Hands of Cain, Ryan will be an excellent speaker for the international moratorium campaign, because he’ll be able to give voice and hope not only to others condemned in the United States, but also to those forgotten on death row, the convicts that die killed in dictatorial and illiberal regimes amongst general silence and indifference,’’ declared Sergio D’Elia, Secretary General of the organisation.