ABSTRACT: The journey to the United States of the representatives of the "Do Not Kill" co-ordination to present one million signatures against death penalty and to attend the appeal trial against Paula Cooper. Capital punishment in the different American states. The list of the members of the Assembly of the State of New York to whom to send an appeal against the reinstatement of the death penalty.

(Notizie Radicali m. 55 of 13 March 1989)

We have brought the United Nations a million signatures against the death penalty; we have given them to the personal representative of the Secretary General Perez de Cuellar. In the almost three years of activity of the Do Not Kill Co-ordination, an equivalent number of appeals and letters have been autonomously sent to the United States. It was the final moment of the journey that a delegation of the Do Not Kill" Coordination made a few days ago in the United States. Together with its president, Father Germano Greganti, there were Maurizio Barbera, director of the women's prison of Rebibbia; Father Vito Bracone, Franciscan ; Mario Monge, of Carcere e Comunità, federal councillor of the Radical Party; Michele Svidercoschi, secretary of the Socialist juvenile movement; and myself. It was an important trip, especially because it gave us the opportunity to understand that Paula Cooper is no longer an unknown person in the Unites States.

We met her on the 2nd of March, the day after the appeal trial against her, held before the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana. Paula told us with extreme simplicity - but also with great awareness - "I thank you for having given me a face".

It is true; if an important merit can be ascribed to these years of political initiative in favour of the life of this young person, in favour of the life of the symbol we wanted Paula Cooper to become, then the merit is that of having succeeded - as Do not kill Co-ordination, as organizations which refer to it - in associating a person with the idea of the death penalty. Something has changed; what has happened is that with Paula Cooper the death penalty has acquired a relation to a face, a face that can smile and has been seen crying. With a face, with a person; not with a number.

This is what this entity - the Do Not Kill Co-ordination - both old in its original structure and very young in the aspect it is assuming, has pursued from the beginning of its commitment: to give a recognizable face to the otherwise abstract and distant idea of the death penalty.

This is not the moment - first of all because it is probably superfluous, being the fact well known, at least in its main outline, to propose a description of the week the delegation of the co-ordination spent in the United States. It will be sufficient to briefly recall the most significant stages of the trip, which took us to the capital of the State of New York, Albany, where a consistent part of the lower Chamber cheered us with conviction, and then to Indianapolis, for the trial and the meeting with Paula Cooper, and from there to the United Nations, in New York, to hand in the million of signatures, those two two hundred kilograms of adhesion forms. What it is necessary to do, instead, is to try to make people understand what is happening, or is about to happen in the United States on this matter.

There are only fourteen states of the United States that do not provide for capital punishment in their regulation. Among these is the state of New York. The reinstatement of the most severe sanction has been often approved by both branches - Senate and Assembly - of the State Parliament. It is only thanks to Governor Mario Cuomo that the State of New York continues to exclude the death penalty from its normative body; only thanks to the vetoes repeatedly opposed by Cuomo. But there is a new and extremely serious fact. In order to overcome the veto opposed by the Governor - the same is happening in Washington, in the relations between President and federal Congress - both legislative assemblies must once again vote on the same draft bill, expressing a majority of two thirds of all members. If the Senate of Albany has already been for years for over two thirds in favour of the reinstatement of the death penalty in the State of New York, only one more vote is lacking in order for the other chamber, the Assembl

y, to also be in favour: on a total of 150 assemblymen, 99 are at present openly in favour of the electric chair: to reach the majority of the two thirds, the front in favour of the death penalty only needs one more vote. It is therefore a delicate moment, a moment which, in the case of a negative result, could provoke a chain mechanism that would certainly not involve just the state of New York: it would mean the beginning of an almost irreversible involution process, and other Parliaments would soon join the powerful parliament of Albany, which after many fruitless attempts is now capable of overcoming the prerogatives constantly exerted by the Governor, other parliaments of those scarce fourteen states that presently do not contemplate the possibility of "remunerating" a criminal by sentencing him to death.

What can or cannot pass in the parliament of Albany is literally crucial; and it requires the initiative of everybody. It would be a mistake to think - even if it is always necessary to think well on these things - that initiatives carried out overseas, initiatives such as those of the Do Not Kill Co-ordination and the paper you have in your hands, are doomed to fail or be useless. The one week long experience in the United States, dealing with the death penalty, has allowed us to become aware of the fact that the initiatives, the campaigns - conducted for the most part in Italy - have arrived overseas: a proof of this is also the number and the quality of the journalists that have got in touch with us. An initiative capable of mobilizing thousands and thousands of people in several European countries could have concrete results, thanks to the power of non-violent and civil dialogue.

In the following pages you will find a list of names. They are the names of all the senators and of all the Assemblymen or Assemblywomen of the State of New York. We ask you ask you to write to them immediately, to send them an express letter in English language. Below you will also find a facsimile of a letter in English, that can be copied or edited, extended, or reduced, that can, in other words, be used and diffused. But you must send an express letter immediately. Time is getting short: the two chambers of the State of New York will be called to vote once more within a few weeks, a month at the most. The list of members of Parliament contains some indications, that we have been able to provide thanks to the help given by the American organizations that fight for the abrogation of the death penalty, and must be understood in the following way:: the first letter immediately after the name of the member of parliament tells you the party the

member belongs to (D for democratic, R for Republican); the second letter tells you if the senator or the Assemblyman or Assemblywonam is in favour (Y) or contrary (N) to the death penalty.

Then you will find a number which is the number of the office in which the member of Parliament works: that number must be copied on the envelope, because it accelerates the delivery of the letter (remember to send an express letter). An example. If you wish to send an express letter to Assemblywoman Patricia McGee, who is in favour of the death penalty, it will be necessary to address it to:

Assemblywoman Patricia McGee

Room 940

New York State Assembly

Albany, NY 12248

U.S.A.

If, instead, you want to write to Senator Jay P. Rolison Jr, you will address it to:

Senator Jay P. Rolison Jr

Room 512

New York State Senate

Albany, NY 12247

U.S.A.

One last detail. Together with the room number you may find a "zip code". For those members of Parliament whose office number is accompanied by a zip code, it is necessary to write Capitol Building instead of Room.

We have one last request: it would be advisable that for each express sent to Albany you sent the Do Not Kill Co-ordination (Viale di Valle Aurelia 93a - Rome) or the Radical Party (Via di Torre Argentina 18 - Rome) a postcard of any kind with the name and surname of the sender, the address, and the name of the member of Parliament you sent the letter to.

List of deputies of the Assembly of New York

Mark Alan Siegel, D, No;

Clarence Norman Jr, D, No;

Melvin M. Zimmer, D, No;

James R. Conte, R, Yes;

Robert Gaffney, R, Yes;

Frank J. Barbaro, D, No;

William P. Boyland, D, No;

James F. Brennan, D, No;

Richard L. Brodsky, D, No;

Thomas F. Catapano, D, No;

Barbara Clark, D, No;

Richard J. Conners, D, No;

Geraldine L. Daniels, D, No;

Gloria Davis, D, No;

Angelo Del Toro, D, No;

Hector L. Dias, D, No;

Thomas Di Napoli, D, No;

Eileen C. Dugan, D, No;

Arthur O. Eve, D, No;

Herman D. Farrell Jr, D, No;

David F. Grant, D, No;

Anthony Genovesi, D, No;

Richard N. Gottfried, D, No;

Alexander B. Grannis, D, No;

Roger L. Green, D, No;

Aurelia Greene, D, No;

Edward Griffith, D, No;

Alan Hevesi, D, No;

Earline H. Hill, D, No;

Morton Hillman, D, No;

Maurice D. Hinchey, D, No;

William B. Hoyt, D, No;

Rhoda S. Jacobs, D, No;

Cynthia Jenkins, D, No;

Oliver J. Koppell, D, No;

Vito J. Lopez, D, No;

Martin Luster, D, No;

Helen Marshall, D, No;

Israel Martinez, D, No;

Kelvin H. Miller, D, No;

John Bian Murtaugh, D, No;

Jerrold Nadler, D, No;

William F. Passannante, D, No;

Joseph T. Pillittere, D, No;

Gary Proud, D, No;

Steven Sanders, D, No;

Larry Seabrook, D, No;

Jose E. Serrano, D, No;

Edward C. Sullivan, D, No;

James R. Tallon Jr, D, No;

Paul D. Tonko, D, No;

Albert Vann, D, No;

Saul Weprin, D, No;

Peter J. Abbate Jr, D, Yes;

Edward Abramson, D, Yes;

Richard B. Anderson, R, Yes;

Henry W. Barnett, R, Yes;

Thomas Barraga, R, Yes;

Gregory Becker, R, Yes;

John Behan, R, Yes;

Lawrence E. Bennett, D, Yes;

Michael J. Bragman, D, Yes;

Harold C. Brown Jr, R, Yes;

William E. Bush, R, Yes;

Denis Butler, D, Yes;

Ronald Canestrari, D, Yes;

Anthony J. Casale, R, Yes;

Ray T. Chesbro, R, Yes;

John Cochrane, R, Yes;

Samuel Colman, D, Yes;

Elizabeth A. Connelly, D, Yes;

Pinny A. Cooke, R, Yes;

Richard I. Coombe, R, Yes;

Joseph Crowley, D, Yes;

Robert D'Andrea, R, Yes;

Donald R. Davidsen, R, Yes;

John Dearie, D, Yes;

Ralph J. Eannace Jr, R, Yes;

John Faso, R, Yes;

Daniel L. Feldman, D, Yes;

John Flanagan, R, Yes;

Daniel Frisa, R, Yes;

Vincent J. Graber Sr, D, Yes;

Kemp Hannon, R, Yes;

Paul Herenberg, D, Yes;

Glenn H. Harris, R, Yes;

John W. Hasper, R, Yes;

Stephen R. Hawley, R, Yes;

Phillip Healy, R, Yes;

Dov Hikind, D, Yes;

Joseph R. Hollan, R, Yes;

Stephen B. Kaufman, D, Yes;

Richard J. Keane, D, Yes;

Neil W. Kelleber, R, Yes;

Robert L. King, R, Yes;

Ivan Lafayette, D, Yes;

William J. Larkin Jr, R, Yes;

Howard Lasher, D, Yes;

Vincent L. Leibell III, R, Yes;

Joseph L. Lentol, D, Yes;

George Madison, R, Yes;

Nettie Mayersohn, D, Yes;

John W. McCann, R, Yes;

Patricia McGee, R, Yes;

Mary H. McPhillips, D, Yes;

Richard H. Miller, R, Yes;

Matthew J. Murphy, D, Yes;

James F. Nagle, R, Yes;

Catherine Nolan, D, Yes;

Robert H. Norts, R, Yes;

Michael F. Nozzolio, R, Yes;

John G. A. O'Neil, R, Yes;

Charles J. O'Shea, R, Yes;

Chris Ortloff, R, Yes;

William L. Parment, D, Yes;

Frederick Parola, R, Yes;

George E. Pataki, R, Yes;

Audrey I. Pheffer, D, Yes;

Francis J. Pordun, D, Yes;

John R. Powell, R, Yes;

Douglas Prescott, R, Yes;

Arnold W. Proskin, R, Yes;

Clarence D. Rappleyea Jr, R, Yes;

Thomas N. Reynolds, R, Yes;

Roger J. Robach, D, Yes;

Stephen N. Saland, R, Yes;

Joseph Sawicki, R, Yes;

Robin Schimminger, D, Yes;

Frederick Schmidt, D, Yes;

William R. Sears, R, Yes;

Anthony Seminerio, D, Yes;

Sheldon Silver, D, Yes;

Cecile D. Singer, R, Yes;

Robert A. Straniere, R, Yes;

Peter M. Sullivan, R, Yes;

Robert K. Sweeney, D, Yes;

Frank G. Talonie Sr, R, Yes;

James Tedisco, R, Yes;

Ronald C. Tocci, D, Yes;

Paul Tokass, D, Yes;

Erik N. Vitaliano, D, Yes;

Glenn E. Warren, R, Yes,

Helene Weinstein, D, Yes;

H. Heisenberg, R, Yes;

Robert Werts, R, Yes;

George H. Winner Jr, R, Yes;

Lewis Yevoli, D, Yes;

Gregory P. Young, D, Yes;

Terrence M. Zaleski, D, Yes;

List of senators

Israel Ruiz, d

Joseph L. Galiber, D, No;

Olga Mendez, D, No;

Paul Kehoe, R, Yes;

Kenneth P. La Valle, R, Yes;

Howard Babbush, D, No;

Abraham Bernstein, D, No;

Martin Connor, D, No;

Emanuel R. Gold, D, No;

Donald M. Halperin, D, No;

Andrew Jenkins, D, No;

Franz S. Leichter, D, No;

John J. Marchi, R, No;

Anthony M. Nasiello, D, No;

Velmanette Montgomery, D, No;

Howard C. Nolan, D, No;

Manfred Ohrenstein, D, No,

Suzi Oppenheimer, D, No;

David Paterson, D, No;

John D. Perry, D, No,

Ada L. Spith, D, No,

Leonard P. Staviski, D, No;

Joseph L. Bruno, R, Yes;

Charles O. Cook, R, Yes;

John B. Daly, R, Yes;

James B. Donovan, R, Yes,

John R. Dunne, R, Yes;

Hugh T. Farley, R, Yes,

Mary B. Goodhue, R, Yes;

Roy M. Goodman, R, Yes,

Arthur E. Gray, D, Yes;

Nancy Larraine Hoffman, D, Yes;

Owen H. Johnson, R, Yes,

John R. Kuhl Jr, R, Yes;

James J. Lack, R, Yes;

Eugene Levy, R, Yes;

Norman J, Levy, R, Yes;

Thomas W. Libous, R, Yes;

Tarky J. Lombardi, R, Yes;

Serphin, R. Maltese, R, Yes;

Ralph J. Marino, R, Yes,

Marty Markowitz, D, Yes;

John M. McHugh, R, Yes;

Cristopher J. Mega, R, Yes;

George Onorato, D, Yes,

Frank Padavan, R, Yes,

Jess J. Present, R, Yes;

Ralph Quattrociocchi, D, Yes;

Jay P. Rolison Jr, R, Yes;

James L. Seward, R, Yes,

John B. Sheffer II, R, Yes;

Dean G. Skelos, R, Yes;

Martin M. Solomon, D, Yes;

Nicholas A. Spano, R, Yes;

William T. Stachowski, D, Yes;

Ronald B. Stafford, R, Yes;

Caesar Trunzo, R, Yes;

Michael J. Tully, R, Yes;

Guy J. Velella, R, Yes;

Dale M. Volker, R, Yes;

Jeremy S. Weinstein, D, Yes;