On Thursday, May 22, the State of Tennessee executed Oscar Smith, a man who had been on Tennessee’s death row for 35 years. This was Tennessee’s first execution in five years.

Governor Lee chose not to stop this execution, though no court had reviewed Tennessee’s secretive new lethal injection protocol.

Prior to the execution, Federal Defender Kelley Henry stated, “There is no principled reason to allow the State to resume executions before the court has an opportunity to hear all of the evidence about whether TDOC (Tennessee Department of Correction) is sourcing its lethal chemicals legally, whether those chemicals are uncontaminated, unexpired, and undiluted, and whether the execution team is capable of carrying out its duties competently and constitutionally. Tennessee can do better than this.” 

Read the full article.

Thanks to all of you who sent letters, made calls, shared actions, and attended events to prevent this execution.

Though we worked tirelessly for a different outcome, our efforts did raise awareness of just how broken the death penalty system is while putting pressure on state leaders to finally acknowledge the failure of the death penalty to meet the real needs of victims and to make our state safer.

Fifty-one victims of violence and surviving family members of murder victims signed and delivered a letter to Governor Lee, asking him to use the exorbitant amount of state dollars currently expended to pursue executions to instead fund victim services and solve unsolved murders.

Watch their press conference here.

These victims and their families were met at the door to the governor’s office by a Tennessee State Trooper who told them that no one from Governor Lee’s staff was available to receive the letter, though the office had been alerted to the timing of the letter delivery the day before. This was incredibly disappointing for these brave individuals whose voices have already been sidelined by the current legal system and in whose name some politicians continue to justify the death penalty.

TADP will continue to organize those who are directly impacted by this failed policy, including victims of violence, surviving family members of murder victims, and death row exonerees. These impacted people will keep speaking out about why the death penalty system does not meet the needs of the vast majority of victims of violence and surviving families in our state and how it continues to risk the execution of the innocent.

The governor can expect more letters to be delivered to his office.

Currently in Tennessee, Byron Black has an execution date of August 5, and Harold Nichols has a date of December 11.

TADP will keep you updated on actions you can take to make your voice heard to prevent these executions and to center policies that support those who are most harmed by violence instead of policies that do more harm.

Tennessee victims of violence and surviving families of murder victims gathered for a press conference on May 8th to urge Governor Lee to continue the pause on executions and instead invest state resources into real solutions that support healing for crime survivors as well as violence prevention. Following the press conference, the group delivered a letter to the governor’s office signed by 51Tennesseans who are victims of violence or surviving families of murder victims.

Quotes from the Press Conference:

As a mother of a murdered son, I am pleading with Governor Lee not to create any more grieving families and to maintain the current pause on executions. What truly helps victims is access to trauma recovery services, financial and funeral assistance, counseling, safe housing, and violence prevention programs. The death penalty drains resources from programs that could provide real and immediate relief to all victims and their families. TADP Community Outreach Director Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick

Tennessee spends millions of tax dollars to pursue executions for a handful of people who have already been incarcerated for decades while hundreds of Tennessee families continue to wait for their loved ones’ cases to be solved and to access help for their recovery. Chapter Leader of the Greater Memphis Parents of Murdered Children and surviving family member C.L. “Tim” Williams

Some in my family supported his execution, and others did not. The added trauma and pain that this division caused is still there today and has broken relationships within our family. At a time when we needed one another the most, the death penalty tore us apart. I urge Governor Lee to reinvest resources currently used on the death penalty, to support grieving families like mine, to bring them together and help them heal. As someone who has lived through this experience, I can tell you that the death penalty did not foster healing for my family, only division. Reverend Timothy Holton whose young cousins Stephen, Brent, Eric, and Kayla Holton, who were murdered by their father, Daryl in 1997. Daryl was later executed by the State of Tennessee.

Kennetha Patterson, whose brother’s life was taken by murder, read the letter in its entirety before the group proceeded to walk to Governor Lee’s office.

Watch this powerful press conference on Facebook Live and share widely to amplify the voices of these impacted people who need to be heard.