23 January 2007 :

“The Italian act is beautiful and noble. It showed courage and was the right thing to do, even if noone else supports it. The request for a UN moratorium on the death penalty gives hope to millions of people around the world who, like me, want the barbarity to end. And it would please me if my government did the same,” Mario Cuomo, ex governor of New York, said in an interview with La Repubblica. According to Cuomo, Italy's decision to propose a UN moratorium against the death penalty contributes to increasing the debate and gives courage to those, for example in New Jersey, who want to stop capital punishment. Ban, the newly appointed UN secretary, “really made a mistake. It was a shame that with his careless statements he changed the old UN position. It showed a lack of professionalism.” “Besides, it is inevitable that these things happen to people who aren't accountable to the electorate.”
In the case of Saddam Hussein, Cuomo said "we've descended to his standard, and lost a chance to show to Iraq and the world the civilised way." It would have been better to leave him in jail forever. Meanwhile, in the US, we are noticing changes, even if it is in slow, gradual and contradictory ways. DNA tests have saved many of those condemned to death at the last minute. In many
states, including New Jersey, they are arguing that life imprisonment without the possibility of release is an even more severe form of punishment while being more civilised than the death penalty. And I repeat, I am sure that Italy’s example will be followed", concluded Cuomo.