Senator Raymond Lesniak (D., Union) won first place in an international speech competition on Sunday, Feb.1, speaking on the topic of the death penalty.

Lawyers from around the world, including the nations of France, Belgium, Guinea, Senegal, and Switzerland, competed in the Memorial de Caen International Human Rights Competition. Candidates must address the topic of breaches of human rights.

In Lesniak’s speech, titled, “The Road to Justice and Peace,” he argued that the death penalty “exposes the innocent to execution, causes more suffering to the family members of murder victims, serves no penal purpose and commits society to the belief that revenge is preferable to redemption.”

“I hope and believe this award will help efforts to abolish the death penalty wherever it exists,” Lesniak said after winning the competition. “I’m also proud as an American to receive this award for the defense of human rights at Le Memorial de Caen, the famous museum dedicated to honoring the D-Day invasion and the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for our freedom.”

Lesniak said he will donate his winnings, totaling about $9,740 from the Caen City Council, to The Road to Justice and Peace. Lesniak created the nonprofit to advance the cause of abolishing the death penalty, support families of murder victims and promote humane alternatives to incarceration. The group’s web site is: www.TheRoadToAbolition.com.

“When New Jersey abolished its death penalty, it chose redemption over revenge, healing over hate, peace over war,” Lesniak said in his speech. “We need more states and our federal government to make those same choices.”

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