{"id":558,"date":"2019-07-17T18:18:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/kaininrome\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:18:28","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:28","slug":"kaininrome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/kaininrome\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 Kain’s anti-death penalty journey leads to Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Dr. George Kain<\/a> traveled a long road to become a leader in the successful campaign to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut during 2012. In November, he journeyed to Rome to join justice ministers and opponents of capital punishment from around the world in celebration of the state\u2019s legislative milestone.<\/p>\n

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Kain, associate professor of Justice and Law Administration at Western Connecticut State University<\/a>, recalled how his views on capital punishment have evolved during his career as a state Judicial Branch administrator, WCSU faculty member and Ridgefield police commissioner from his initial support of the death penalty to his current role as president of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty<\/a> (CNADP). He was invited to join the CNADP board in 2004 after he appeared at a local forum discussion at which he quoted the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall\u2019s opinion that \u201cif people knew the truth about capital punishment, they would never be able to support it.\u201d He repeated that quote during his Nov. 27 talk representing CNADP at the Seventh International Congress of Ministers of Justice<\/a> in Rome.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have been involved in law enforcement for 29 years and, if I thought for a single minute that the death penalty was necessary to keep law enforcement officers safe, I wouldn\u2019t be standing before you today,\u201d he told the congress. \u201cThe arguments supporting capital punishment are full of false promises, but the evidence tells us another story.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In recent years, Kain and Associate Professor of Justice and Law Administration Terrence Dwyer, a retired New York state police investigator, have collaborated on several research articles exploring capital punishment issues. They earned recognition for best paper presentations at two professional conferences held in Las Vegas during October. \u201cOur work on capital punishment has become a passion for me,\u201d Kain observed, \u201cand my hope is that it will draw attention to the wonderful research being done by the faculty at Western.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The CNADP board asked Kain to represent the organization at the Rome conference and the coinciding annual observance of \u201cCities for Life Week,\u201d culminating in the Nov. 29 lighting of the Roman Colosseum<\/a> in recognition of Connecticut\u2019s abolition of the death penalty during 2012. Kain was accompanied by fellow CNADP board member and WCSU student Fernando Bermudez<\/a>, whose 1992 conviction for a New York City murder was overturned in 2009 in a case championed by the Innocence Project.<\/p>\n

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Kain was recruited as an eleventh-hour replacement for former CNADP Executive Director Ben Jones, who recently resigned to join a death penalty abolition organization in Kansas, and the WCSU professor found himself thrust to center stage with a surprise invitation to address the opening meeting of the justice ministers congress. His hurriedly drafted speech and subsequent remarks as invited guest at a closed-door session of ministers received a warm reception, including an invitation from Zambia\u2019s recently appointed justice minister to visit the southern African nation to advise the government on how to prepare an accurate survey of public opinion on capital punishment. <\/p>\n

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\u201cCities for Life\u201d organizers provided a full schedule for Kain and Bermudez to share their experiences with the anti-death penalty movement in informal talks at churches and schools in the area. One of Kain\u2019s most moving experiences came during a lively exchange with students at a high school in northern Rome. There he learned that the class was currently reading Charles Dickens\u2019 \u201cBleak House\u201d \u2014 one of several Dickens works that Kain and Dwyer have referenced in their articles because they reflect the 19th century British author\u2019s struggles with the subject of capital punishment \u2014 and he framed his classroom talk around the theme of this \u201cDickensian dilemma.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen we took questions and answers afterwards,\u201d Kain recalled, \u201ca girl in the class said, \u2018You live in the United States, where more than half of your states have capital punishment, and you claim to be the world leader in human rights. How can you justify that?\u2019 Her question reminded me that you can learn a lot about the United States when you listen to people in other countries and understand what they see in us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kain and Bermudez were guests of honor introduced at the Colosseum illumination, a traditional symbol during \u201cCities for Life Week\u201d representing government actions over the past year to end capital punishment. Kain observed that approximately 100 nations worldwide \u201chave abolished capital punishment either in law or in practice over the past 10 years.\u201d Within the United States, five states \u2014 New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Illinois and most recently Connecticut \u2014 have abolished capital punishment since 2007, increasing the number of states banning the death penalty to 17.<\/p>\n

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Kain said the CNADP will continue its work to ensure the Connecticut abolition of capital punishment is preserved, and \u201cto provide assistance to movements in states now in the same position we were in with the campaign to abolish the death penalty.\u201d He said he left Rome with a sense of humility for the opportunity to serve as \u201ca messenger of world peace, a world without hate. It made me very proud to be part of this university and to be an American citizen on this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis was a time to pause, reflect and celebrate,\u201d he said, \u201cbut our work is far from over.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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\n Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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