ROME (AP) — A Vatican-affiliated Catholic charity made a last-minute appeal Tuesday to the U.S. state of Alabama to halt a planned execution using nitrogen gas, saying the method is “barbarous" and “uncivilized” and would bring “indelible shame” to the state.
The Rome-based Sant’Egidio Community has lobbied for decades to abolish the death penalty around the world.
It has turned its attention to Thursday's scheduled execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in what would be the first U.S. execution using nitrogen hypoxia.
Marazziti noted that around the world, the trend has been to abolish the death penalty.
Pope Francis in 2018 declared the death penalty inadmissable in all cases.
Persons:
”, Kenneth Eugene Smith, Smith, ” Mario Marazziti, general’s, Kay Ivey, Marazziti, Pope Francis
Organizations:
ROME, Catholic, Alabama Gov, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Alabama
Locations:
., Alabama, Rome, Europe, Sant’Egidio, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United States