Sant'Egidio

* I am one of the tourists who happened upon the Community of Sant'Egidio on one of my visits to Rome (NCR, May 16). Its work with the death penalty opened my eyes to the travesty of the American capital punishment system. I now spend 20 hours a week working as a volunteer to end the death penalty. I write letters to the editor and op-ed articles, and I am the chairwoman of the San Francisco chapter of Death Penalty Focus, a grass-roots anti-death penalty organization. I have these Italian Catholics to thank for putting the death penalty on my radar screen. Most Americans never even think about it.

NANCY OLIVEIRA

San Francisco

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