Your three-page article on capital punishment in America is somewhat encouraging (“Revenge Begins to Seem Less Sweet,” September 1, 2007). The number of executions has been dropping throughout the country since 1999. Twelve out of fifty states have suspended the death penalty since 2000. There were only four executions in the entire northeast region since 1976. Perhaps most encouraging, there is no death penalty in much of the northeast region. Exhaustive and balanced as it is, your article does not touch upon outside influences on American attitudes, though. In particular, it does not mention the influence of campaigners in Europe, where capital punishment has long been a thing of the past. In this context, the special place of the region closest to Europe, both historically and geographically, cannot be dismissed as a matter of mere chance. And this is of special importance because international campaigners against death penalty do seem to have a rôle to play, no matter how circumstantial the evidence of their influence in America. It can only be hoped that they, too, will be encouraged by the developments you report.