Desmond Tutu calls for abolition of death penalty at UNR news conference

RENO - Two days after a Texas man's execution prompted a loud outcry, Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged the United States to abolish capital punishment.

At a news conference Saturday prior to accepting an honorary doctorate from the University of Nevada, Reno, Tutu said too many innocent people have been sent to death row.

''I don't want a moratorium on the death penalty. I want the abolition of it,'' Tutu said. ''The death penalty is one of the oddest things about this country.

''For the life of me, I can't understand why a country that's so committed to human rights doesn't find the death penalty an obscenity. I've always been amazed by this streak of vindictiveness in a society that's so caring in so many ways.''

Tutu, 69, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, said he fears innocent inmates could be executed in the future.

In Illinois, 13 death row inmates have been cleared and released since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1977, prompting Gov. George Ryan to place a moratorium on executions.

Gary Graham insisted he was innocent moments before a Thursday execution that presented Texas Gov. George W. Bush with the loudest outcry over capital punishment since he began his run for president.

''When you see the evidence of so many mistakes, you realize more mistakes can be made,'' Tutu said. ''Once an execution is done, you can't correct it.''

Tutu also urged the United States to come to terms with its history of slavery.

''You'll keep being haunted by slavery until you face up to it and what it did to slaves,'' he said. ''We discovered in South Africa the incredible potency of saying 'I'm sorry.'

''Once those simple words are uttered, they're an open sesame. Ask for foregiveness and work for reconciliation.''

Despite conflicts around the world, Tutu said he's upbeat about the chances for world peace.

''Have you seen what's happened between North and South Korea? Have you seen what's happened between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland.

''People are tired of conflict and they've seen how costly it is. We have to work at it, but I believe we can have universal peace.''

Tutu gave a speech Saturday titled ''Reconciling Love: A Millennium Mandate'' as part of UNR's Millennium Speaker Series.

He's retiring this summer after two years as a visiting professor of theology at Emory University in Atlanta.