Fashion giant Benetton joined Italy's offensive against...

Fashion giant Benetton joined Italy's offensive against the death penalty with its 2000 advertising campaign called "We, On Death Row." (see Italy)The posters featured American death-row inmates in prison uniforms staring into the camera over the words, ``Sentenced to Death.'' The prisoner's name, date of birth, crime and expected method of execution followed. The "We, On Death Row" project was a joint effort of Benetton, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the international death penalty abolitionist group, Rome-based Hands Off Cain. Photographer Oliviero Toscani, known for socially provocative Benetton ads that seemingly have little to do with fashion, visited prisons across the United States over two years to create the series. Toscani said he wanted to foster debate on capital punishment, even at the cost of losing American customers. The ads also appeared in a supplement that accompanied the February issue of "Talk" magazine. The supplement included interviews with the inmates and asks such questions as "Do you consider yourself a lucky person?" and "Are you afraid of dying?" In announcing its death-row campaign, Benetton credited itself with ``tearing down the wall of international indifference.''