06 February 2007 :

The Third World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris concluded with a message from Pope Benedict XVI in favour of the abolition of the death penalty. The Pontiff delivered his defense of the ‘right to life’ in a message read by a member of the French clergy.
“The death penalty isn’t only an attack on life, but an offence against human dignity as well”.
For Benedict XVI, government’s have more effective means of preventing the crimes which leave offenders in a situation where they do not have the definitive possibility of redeeming themselves.