On May 21, the state of Tennessee plans to execute Tony Carruthers — even though it refuses to run simple fingerprint and DNA testing that could prove his innocence.

Governor Bill Lee has the power to pause this execution and demand answers to the most basic question: Did Tennessee get the right person?

Tell Governor Lee that this execution cannot go forward without this answer.

Here is what we know:

• Mr. Carruthers was convicted without physical evidence.
• His conviction was based on testimony from informants, including one paid by the state who later recanted his statement.
• For decades, the state denied that this informant was paid, and actively prevented the jury from knowing the full truth.
• Mr. Carruthers was forced to represent himself in court despite extreme mental illness – resulting in a trial riddled with so many mistakes that his co-defendant was granted a new trial.
• There are several fingerprints and DNA from the scene that don’t match Mr. Carruthers, but they were never compared to a suspect identified by his co-defendant.

If Tennessee executes Mr. Carruthers, he will be the first person in nearly a century to be executed after being forced to represent himself at trial.

If you believe that Tennessee should not execute Tony Carruthers until all the evidence has been tested, then send Governor Lee a letter asking him to pause the execution and allow for all the forensic testing.

As we emerge from the cold fury of Fern, TADP hopes and prays that you are warm and safe. A week later, we are happy to report that all of our staff finally have power and are back in their homes.

Now something to look forward to, along with the coming of spring: TADP’s Day on the Hill on Tuesday, March 31!

Please put this date on your calendar and consider making the trip to Nashville to join us for a day of sharing our concerns with Tennessee lawmakers about the problems with the death penalty.

You can register for TADP Day On the Hill here.

In addition to visiting with lawmakers, Tennessee Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (TNCC) is also hosting a legislative breakfast that morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Old State Law Library in the Capitol building, and you are invited!

TNCC Director Jasmine Woodson will be in conversation with the former Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole Chair and pro-life conservative Adam Luck to discuss the growing concern among conservatives nationwide about the death penalty system and its inconsistency with the conservative principles of limited government and pro-life policies.

Regardless of your political affiliation, we hope you will join us for breakfast and conversation.  

Then spend the day with us for TADP Day on the Hill.

Don’t forget to register!

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man (woman) who wields it. I believe in this method because I think it is the only way to reestablish a broken community. It is the method which seeks to implement the just law by appealing to the conscience of the great decent majority who through blindness, fear, pride, and irrationality have allowed their consciences to sleep. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964​

In our nation today, the capacity for the powerful to exaggerate and exploit divisions among us, encourage the demonization of one another, and desensitize us to state violence is greater than at any time in history. 

We are at least as divided, if not more so, than we were when Dr. King risked everything to free us from the idolatry of racism and violence. He spoke the truth to us in love, appealed to our higher angels, and empowered ordinary Americans to more fully realize those self-evident truths set out in our Declaration of Independence, that all people are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.

On Monday, January 19, we will remember, celebrate, and reaffirm our commitment to carry on Dr. King’s legacy as we gather for the annual MLK Day March in Nashville. 

Join TADP between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. at Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church. Look for a large vertical TADP sign that says, “God does not approve of the death penalty.” That’s us! 

 The walk concludes at TSU’s Gentry Center with a program to follow.  

 We hope to see you then!​

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