Pope wins anti-death penalty award

(ANSA) Rome, July 31 - Pope Francis has been awarded the Hands off Cain prize as 'Abolitionist of the Year 2015' for his contribution to ending the death penalty worldwide during his pontificate, the NGO said Friday.
    The radical association that campaigns against the death penalty around the world said that the Argentine pope "whose pontificate began with the abolition of life imprisonment and the introduction of the crime of torture in the Vatican State penal code, has spoken out strongly and clearly not just against the death penalty but also about the penalty (of imprisonment) until death".
    The NGO "recognises in the Holy Father the prodigious value of his words, essential and inspiring for those who want to commit themselves concretely, always more necessary and urgent, to reach the definitive overcoming of inhumane and degrading punishments, cruel and anachronistic treatment, that condemn a state that practises them and becomes itself Cain".
    The prize awarded to Francis is a bronze statue by Massimo Liberti depicting the Earth "in the form of a ball on which children are seated to fly higher and see further," the NGO said.
    http://popefrancisnewsapp.com/