As warden of San Quentin State Prison, Jeanne Woodford’s job description required her to oversee executions. Her new position, executive director of Death Penalty Focus, will ask her to prevent them. Death Penalty Focus, a non-profit organization that works to abolish the death penalty, announced Woodford’s hiring last week. After working 25 years at San Quentin and then as corrections director for California, Woodford admits she could no longer continue implementing a failed policy that is exorbitantly expensive, discriminatory, and fails to make people safer. “The death penalty serves no one. It doesn’t serve the victims. It doesn’t serve prevention. It’s truly all about retribution.”

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Photo provided by lightenupitsjustfashion

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as core trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Ben Hall of Channel 5 News in Nashville recently featured the tragic story of William Runnells, the most recent Tennessee inmate suffering with severe mental illness to die in prison in the past few months.  Hall’s investigation shows that though Runnells was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he ended up in prison where correctional staff do not have the training or resources to properly address such needs, ultimately leading to Runnells’ tragic deaths as he was being restrained. Individuals suffering from these illnesses not only end up in prison but on death row as well. 

Hall points out that currently Tennessee has only 660 hospital beds available for such very ill individuals while in 1990, the state had 1,700 available beds.  Severe budget cuts have led to this decline.  A recent national study showed that currently prisons have 3 times the number of those with mental illness in their populations than do hospitals.

The reality is that the state chooses not to spend the money necessary to treat these individuals but will spend the money to incarcerate them, and in some cases, execute them when they go untreated and break the law or become violent. 

If Tennessee ended the death penalty, even if only for those with severe mental illness,  the millions of dollars saved could be spent better ensuring these individuals get the treatment they need before a tragedy occurs.

Watch the video here and then go to Ben Hall’s Facebook page to tell Channel 5 that we want more stories like this.

Picture by Tim Pearce

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Chaz Guest, one of America’s most prominent artists, recently painted a portrait of Troy Davis, a Georgia death row inmate who was convicted in 1991 of the murder of Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail. 

The creation of Guest’s work was documented by film maker David Serota. This two minute film highlights the story of Troy Davis, who was convicted and sentenced to death based, not on physical evidence, but on the testimony of  nine witnesses–seven of whom have recanted all or part of their testimony since 1991.

Watch this moving video, and learn how to act to stop this execution.

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying heartiness conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

In response to recent allegations that the Tennessee Department of Corrections circumvented legal restrictions when providing Alabama with a supply of sodium thiopental, TDOC Spokesperson Dorinda Carter argued Friday that the state has “not acted illegally.” Spokesperson Carter went on to point out that Tennessee has a Drug Enforcement Agency permit to handle such drugs and all the state’s actions were legitimate.

The alleged offenses occurred in the past few weeks when Tennessee provided Alabama with eight grams of sodium thiopental for the execution of an inmate on the condition Alabama would return the courtesy in the future. Following the exchange, federal agents seized the drugs from both states after attorneys raised questions concerning the legality of Tennessee’s initial acquisition of the the drug. One such attorney, Brian Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative, suggests, “Desperate desires to carry out executions blinded them (states) to many of the serious regulatory requirements for using and obtaining these drugs.”

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Photo courtesy of the Death Penalty Information Center

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

A recent publication by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund entitled  “Death Row USA” shows that the number of people on death row in the United States is slowly declining. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund reported an 11% decrease in the nation’s death row population from 3,682 in the year 2000 to 3,260 in 2010. The report also includes statistics on the racial composition of the country’s death row and the death row population in each state. Nationally, the racial composition of those on death row is 44% white, 41% black, and 12% Latino/Latina. California, Florida, and Texas house the largest death row populations, while Tennessee houses the 10th largest death row.

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Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Recent drug forfeitures and questions about delayed executions have led Tennesseans to voice their concern over a death penalty system displaying a number of systematic flaws. On Monday alone, The Tennessean posted three op-ed pieces discussing capital punishment in our state. While State Representative Barrett Rich, Pastor William W. McDermet III, and CARITAS co-chair Fran Rajotte all hold differing viewpoints on capital punishment, each author calls for a long, hard look at a death penalty system that appears to be frustrating everyone.

Read the articles here.

Representative Barrett Rich

Pastor William W. McDermet III

Fran Rajotte

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual claim among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years behind bars, including 12 years on death row in Texas, was exonerated in 2010 after  prosecutors acknowledged  that he did not commit the crimes for which he was sentenced to death.  

Since 1973, 138 people have been released from death rows across the country when evidence of their wrongful convictions emerged.  Cases such as Graves are terrifying reminders that the current system continues to risk the execution of an innocent person.  With alternatives like life without parole, this is a risk we don’t have to take.   

Graves conviction and ultimate exoneration were recently documented in a compelling “48 Hours Mystery” episode.

Watch the video.

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be so dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

If Jesus were tried today, what would his sentence be?  That was the question posed by Mark Osler and Jeanne Bishop as they recreated the trial of Jesus recently in Richmond, VA. 

The trial was the idea of  Mark Osler, a former U.S. Attorney in Detroit who teaches at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis.  He is also author of the book, Jesus on Death Row, which puts the prosecution of Jesus in a modern day context.  

Jeanne Bishop’s sister, Nancy Bishop Langert, was killed during a home invasion in Winnetka, Illinois, along with her husband and unborn child in 1990.  Her sister’s death was part of the reason Jeanne Bishop became a defense attorney and an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. Bishop is currently active with Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights.

TADP hopes to bring Jeanne and Mark to Tennessee next year during Lent for such an event, providing the opportunity for Tennesseans, particularly Christians, to take the trial of Jesus out the familiar pages of Scripture and to place it within the context of the current death penalty system.  

Read more here. 

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as core trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile malfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Last week, Laura Moye, Director of Amnesty International USA’s Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, traveled to Nashville to speak to students at Belmont University about the troubling case of Troy Davis. Troy’s mother, Virginia, was to have accompanied Laura to speak about her son’s case, but Mrs. Davis died suddenly just a few days before she was to arrive.  Her sudden death at 65 is a sad reminder of the toll the death penalty takes on all those who are impacted by it.

Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 for the 1989 shooting of police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail, in Savannah, Georgia.  Officer MacPhail had been working off-duty as a security officer at a Greyhound bus station.  A homeless man had been beaten unconscious outside the adjoining Burger King.  Officer MacPhail came running to his aid and was then shot by the person who had pistol-whipped the homeless man.  An aggressive search for the perpetrator ensued, particularly intensive because the murder victim was a police officer.

Troy Davis was presented as an early suspect.  The case against him relied on witness testimony, which has since unraveled.  Ballistics found at the crime scene were offered at trial.  Shell casings were linked to a non-fatal shooting earlier that evening that was pinned to Davis; however, no murder weapon was ever found.  The GBI later held that the ballistics were not conclusive evidence, and the shooting victim has asserted that Davis was not the gunman.  Since 1991, seven of the nine non-police witnesses against Davis have recanted or contradicted their trial testimony.  The two remaining witnesses include a man who could not identify the shooter until the trial (two years after the crime) and initially felt certain only of the color of the shooter’s clothes.  The other was the first to implicate Davis to the police, but has since been implicated as the actual perpetrator by more than nine witnesses in sworn affidavits.

 In 2007, Davis received his first execution date following the denial of an appeal to the US Supreme Court.  Since then he has been on a rollercoaster of execution dates, stays of executions and various court proceedings.  A breakthrough came in September 2009, when the US Supreme Court ordered an unprecedented evidentiary hearing tasking him with the extraordinary charge of proving his innocence.  That hearing, held by the federal district court in Savannah, took place in June 2010.  Davis’ lawyers brought in several of the trial witnesses who admitted to giving false testimony, some alleging pressure from police.  They also brought in witnesses against the chief alternative suspect, including a new eyewitness who is the relative of this suspect.  Davis’ legal team still had no benefit of physical evidence to make their case.  They had to rely on witnesses, including some, who at the time of the MacPhail murder and today, have criminal records.  The state brought in several police officers and the former district attorney and his assistant, all of whom maintained that the investigation and prosecution they participated in was regular and without fault. 

In August, the judge who oversaw the hearing ruled against Davis.  Ultimately, he did not accept the credibility of the very witnesses used to convict Davis and made a judgment based on an “extraordinarily high standard” for “establishing innocence.”  He expressed disappointment that Davis’s lawyers did not call the alternative suspect, though his lawyers submitted an affidavit demonstrating their attempt to serve him a subpoena.  Davis’ test was to prove his innocence, not to establish serious doubts about his guilt or that a jury would not be able to convict him today.  Interestingly, some of the original trial jurors have said that they would not have convicted Davis had they know what they know today.  The judge’s ruling was lengthy and harshly worded; however, he admits that “the state’s case [against Davis] may not be ironclad.”  Davis filed an appeal and a petition with the US Supreme Court challenging the ruling but was recently denied.  Now, it is up to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to decide whether or not to commute his death sentence.  

With such extraordinary doubt in this case, we hope that you will consider signing on to Amnesty International’s petition asking for a commutation of Troy’s death sentence. An execution date could be set at any time so please  act quickly.

Sign the petition.

Pictured above Denver Schimming, Laura Moye, Belmont students, and Stacy Rector

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying heartiness conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile malfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Tennessee Department of Corrections officials are facing tough decisions as they try to navigate death penalty statutes requiring lethal injection and the current shortage of sodium thiopental. Following the seizure of execution drugs by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, Dorinda Carter, stated that “The commissioner isn’t prepared to discuss what will happen next. He is still reviewing our options.” Options for the state include switching to another drug or reverting to previous execution methods, such as hanging or electrocution. Neither option provides a simple solution as many drug manufacturers are refusing to sell the drugs used for executions and any change in method would have to be initiated in the legislature and meet constitutional requirements.

While opponents of the death penalty appreciate the recent lack of executions, they still hold that the arguments over lethal injection gloss over more systemic problems. Reverend Stacy Rector, commenting on the the current execution dilemma, stated, “It is a huge problem, but it doesn’t get at the real core issue, which is, can we as a society maintain the death penalty system given all of its problems? I think it’s just one more symptom of a huge problem that we don’t need to have. We could be spending our energy and our resources focusing more on helping murder victims’ families to heal.”

Tennessee State Representative Barrett Rich holds a drastically different view point, arguing, “What I want is to do whatever it takes to discourage people from killing people… If they want to paint us into the corner and stop us from having lethal injection, then I certainly have no problem with hanging or putting someone to death with a firing squad.” While Rich’s comments certainly display a great deal of emotion, the deterrence effect he is suggesting has little basis in available research.

A study found in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology reports that, “Eighty-eight percent of the country’s top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide.” Generally, states without the death penalty have consistently lower murder rates than states with the death penalty. A New York Times review in 2000 of murder rates over the past 20 years found that the murder rate in states with the death penalty has been 48% to 101% higher than in non-death penalty states.  And, consistent with previous years, the 2006 FBI Uniform Crime Report showed that the South had the highest murder rate and accounts for over 80% of the  executions in the nation. The Northeast, which has less than 1% of executions, again had the lowest murder rate.

Criminal Justice Professor Margaret Vandiver of the University of Memphis in a recent interview with The City Paper (Nashville)  stated that, “since 1977, about one-fifth of 1 percent of homicides have resulted in an execution.”  Such an infinitesimal number of executions for all homicides in this country would make any possible deterrent effect unlikely given that the vast majority of those who murder do not receive a death sentence.

Regardless of the course Tennessee Department of Corrections officials choose to take, legal challenges and further delays ensure that the “justice” promised in our system will remain elusive and unsatisfactory.

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Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile malfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be much dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.