Each year Hands Off Cain, an international organization whose purposes is to affirm the value of life and the dignity of the human being, bestows its “Abolitionist of the Year” award on a person who, more than any other, has been distinguished for his/her commitment in favor of the abolition of the death penalty and the inhuman and degrading treatment of individuals.
“The reason for the choice,” said the association, “is that Pope Francis–whose pontificate was inaugurated by the abolition of life imprisonment and the introduction of the crime of torture in the Vatican State–ruled loud and clear not only against the death penalty, but also against life imprisonment, which he called ‘a hidden death penalty.’”