ESECUZIONE CAPITALE IN CAROLINA DEL SUD

 WASHINGTON, 14 SET - Un uomo di 40 anni, Michael Passaro, e' stato messo a morte con un'iniezione letale ieri sera a Columbia, in Carolina del Sud, per avere ucciso nel 1998, sua figlia Maggie, 2 anni.

   Le circostanze della morte della bimba furono particolarmente drammatiche: Passaro, che si era appena separato dalla moglie, getto' benzina sul 'minivan' familiare, e la piccola rimase prigioniera delle fiamme perche' la cintura di sicurezza era attaccata.

   Passaro ha riconosciuto i fatti, ed un tribunale lo ha condannato a morte. L'uomo non ha mai voluto fare appello, perche' ha sempre dichiarato che preferiva morire piuttosto che passare tutta la vita in carcere.

    L'intenzione di Passaro, secondo quanto lui stesso ha spiegato a piu' riprese, era di perire insieme con la figlia nel rogo, ma l'uomo salto' fuori dal minivan prima che esplodesse e si salvo'.

   Quella di ieri e' la terza esecuzione capitale quest'anno in Carolina del Sud, la 28esima da quando la pena di morte vi e' stata ristabilita, nel 1985.

14/09/02

By JEFFREY COLLINS

COLUMBIA, South Carolina  _ A 40-year-old inmate was executed Friday by injection for burning his daughter to death nearly four years ago to get back at his estranged wife. Michael Passaro had pleaded guilty to murder and a judge sentenced him to death.

He never appealed, telling his lawyers and judges a trip to the death chamber was better than spending the rest of his life in a cell.

Passaro was in the midst of a custody dispute in November 1998 when he parked the family minivan in front of his estranged wife's Myrtle Beach condominium, doused the inside with gasoline and set it on fire with their 2-year-old daughter, Maggie, strapped in her car seat.

Passaro planned to die in the blaze, but jumped from the van when it exploded. The Navy veteran and former nurse technician left behind a suicide note.

Whatever anyone does, please make sure that Karen doesn't kill herself over this,

Passaro wrote. I want her to live in pain for the rest of her life.

The girl's family issued a statement that said they would rather focus on Maggie's life instead of the death of her father.

There are no words that could describe the horror that a mother must feel to see an ambulance take her child away, the family said.

Passaro was so determined to die he even personally appeared before the state Supreme Court justices in May, asking them to let him go to his death without a judge ever reviewing his case. His request was granted.

But the state Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Christian Action Council appealed for clemency to Gov. Jim Hodges, calling Passaro's execution court-assisted suicide. Hodges rejected the appeal Thursday.