About us

lifespark is a Swiss organization and was founded in January 1993 .

lifespark is a non-profit organization, financed by membership dues and donations. All work for lifespark is done on a voluntary basis.

lifespark has a central governing body, but the members are divided into two regional groups, one for German and one for French speaking Switzerland.

At the end of 2007 the organization had 300 members and had arranged for 900 penpalships.

THE FOUR GOALS OF lifespark:

1. One of the main goals of lifespark is to arrange penpalships with prisoners condemned to death in the USA and to offer its members support and advice. We meet at different events several times a year.
2. lifespark is involved in political events and activities against the death penalty. We also work to improve the conditions on death row.
3. lifespark collaborates with other organizations which share the goal of abolishing the death penalty worldwide.
4. lifespark informs the public about the death penalty. We organize information stands, press releases, school visits and other means, so that people are made aware of the problems involved in the death penalty. Ignorance is the most common reason for the support of the death penalty.

Why the USA? As more and more countries in the world abolish the death penalty, the only Western country to continue executing many people each year is the United States. Many of those executed are poor, mentally retarded, or were juveniles at the time of the crime. Many innocent people have also been executed. The injustice of the US justice system is clearly evident. At the same time the world looks to the USA and accepts its integrity.

There are other countries besides the United States, which have legalized injustice and inhumanity. However the USA is most accessible to us and therefore that is where we concentrate our efforts.

Are you interested in lifespark? Would you like to know more? We'd be happy to hear from you!

Please contact us: lifespark, Postfach, 4002 Basel, or