The Italian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NPO) was founded in Naples in 1997.

Our vision : A world where human rights and needs are respected.

Our mission: To educate and raise public awareness of respect of all human beings.

Our motto : Together We Will Win!

The association's goal is to provide news and information to the Italian and International community on human rights, legal and social issues and primarily on the use of capital punishment worldwide. Its founders have proper educational backgrounds and expertise and have been dedicating their time and efforts to the cause for many years.

We pay particular attention to the situation in the United States of America, being the only Western democracy that still applies the death penalty as a means of punishment.

Our opposition to the death penalty is unconditional, as we are convinced that the respect of human rights be an unquestionable top priority and that justice cannot be pursued by taking revenge, but by conducting the forces operating in society in a just and well-balanced way.



Each community must be in a position to assure its members certainty of punishment and above all equitable and rightful legal proceedings, but it also has to enable offenders to rehabilitate themselves – whenever possible – thus balancing the legitimate need for justice for the families of the victims of violent crime, and the respect of the very same values which demand an act of justice. The imposition of the death penalty negates modern concepts of penology which are based on the theory that rehabilitation of the individual criminal is possible.



We are in direct contact with several men and women sitting on death in the USA as well as in other countries.



Our educational activities are being held mainly in schools and universities, religious and lay associations, and within groups / organizations that work in defense of human rights. As our target audience is mainly composed of young people, we mostly use the Internet as a way of communication.

In Italy we work with the Sant’Egidio Community, Hands Off Cain, Amnesty International, as well as any other groups, associations and individuals who share our same principles and goals. We are founding members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty through which we help develop protest campaigns at an International level.



We provide news through our mailing list which is updated on a daily basis; Furthermore a great deal of useful information, bibliography and filmography on such topics as well as rules and advice on how to correspond with a death row prisoner can be found in our web-site.



The Coalition members, besides being all volunteers full of goodwill, are bound by a strong friendship and respect. We believe that there is strength in numbers and that working together is the winning strategy thanks to which we shall reach the final goal, that is the abolition of the death penalty and the respect for the rule of law worldwide.



Coalition website: www.coalit.it


Upcoming events:



World Day Against the Death Penalty 2011

Piacenza (9th October): Conference/Debate on capital punishment organized by Amnesty International Italia - Gruppo Giovani Piacenza in cooperation with Spazio2

Expert speaker: Arianna Ballotta, President of the Italian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty



Cities for Life 2011

Naples (30th November): Conference on capital punishment organized by the Italian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in cooperation with the Community of Sant'Egidio and the association Sacco & Vanzetti

Speakers (among others):

- Michela Mancini and Arianna Ballotta, respectively Vice-President and President of the Italian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

- Hon. Luigi De Magistris, Mayor of Naples

- Hon. Antonio di Pietro,former anti-corruption magistrate and leader of the opposition Italy of Values party

- Fernanda Sacco and Matteo Marolla, respectively Honorary President and President of the association Sacco & Vanzetti

- Mario Marazziti of the Community of Sant'Egidio

-David Atwood founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty