Robert Badinter was already a great man, already beyond his most celebrated accomplishment as Minister of Justice — abolishing the death penalty in France — when I first heard him speak. I was a criminal defense lawyer, and that had been his profession and his passion before his time in government. He was brilliantly articulate, a great orator, with the passion and variety and nuance of tone and argument, both in French and in English. An exceptional lawyer, and he moved from advocating for the defense of his clients to the defense of humanity and abolition of the torture of the death penalty. I knew him a little during his later years, still vibrant, still passionate, still a brilliant champion for the rights of human beings. He was dazzling as an international advocate for universal abolition. He remained an inspiration in the world of human rights, even in his 80s and 90s, not just figurehead, but always pulling us all to him and with him, as a living example of advocacy in the present, not only a reminder of the past. He was charming, magnetic, widely knowledgeable, a teacher of generations, a light to aspire to. May his memory be for a blessing. It means not only will we be blessed to remember him, but his memory and his name will serve as a blessing for us, for others, as we follow his path.
Robert Badinter was already a great man, already beyond his most celebrated accomplishment as Minister of Justice — abolishing the death penalty in France — when I first heard him speak. I was a criminal defense lawyer, and that had been his profession and his passion before his time in government.
He was brilliantly articulate, a great orator, with the passion and variety and nuance of tone and argument, both in French and in English. An exceptional lawyer, and he moved from advocating for the defense of his clients to the defense of humanity and abolition of the torture of the death penalty.
I knew him a little during his later years, still vibrant, still passionate, still a brilliant champion for the rights of human beings.
He was dazzling as an international advocate for universal abolition. He remained an inspiration in the world of human rights, even in his 80s and 90s, not just figurehead, but always pulling us all to him and with him, as a living example of advocacy in the present, not only a reminder of the past.
He was charming, magnetic, widely knowledgeable, a teacher of generations, a light to aspire to.
May his memory be for a blessing. It means not only will we be blessed to remember him, but his memory and his name will serve as a blessing for us, for others, as we follow his path....
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