Now I don’t have a TV, and Stacy doesn’t have cable, but for those of you who do, check out MSNBC tomorrow morning at 9:00. What you’ll see live is me on a program with Senator Doug Jackson discussing legislation that Jackson has recently sponsored to expand the use of the death penalty to apply to those convicted of the aggravated rape of a child, with no murder involved. By the way, Senator Jackson is a fair and well intentioned public official. He is generally thoughtful and truly has the best interests of Tennesseans at heart. He is also sponsoring a bill this year to conduct a full and complete study of Tennessee’s death penalty system so we can address the huge problems with the the injustice and inaccuracy that plague our capital punishment system.

This piece of legislation (Senate Bill 22) however, is not a good piece of public policy. While most of us respond extremely viscerally to the idea of a child being raped, we need to make sure that our response is focused on helping to heal that child and protect them from further victimization. In this case, this bill does the opposite for three reasons:

1. If we make the death penalty available for child rapists, we remove any incentive they might have to keep their victim alive. In fact, if they can be executed either way, they would be more likely to murder their victim do eliminate a witness.
2. Most child rapes and sexual assaults are committed by people the child knows, often a family member. If the child knows that a family member could face execution, they are less likely to report the rape, thus leading to further traumatization for them as well as leaving them, and other children, at risk by leaving a potential sexual predator on the streets.
3. According to the fiscal note attached to this bill, the state will spend over $15,000,000.00 a year to enact this policy, while only executing perhaps 2 people a year, with actual executions not beginning for 10-15 years. Certainly there are better ways to help our children with $15,000,000.00

I’m looking forward to the program. I’m sure it will be a lively and spirited debate. Hopefully some of you can watch it, and maybe join in. Maybe I should get cable after all.

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 disfunction. 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 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 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.

I just got back into the office from a mid-day trip to the legislature with the above group of high school anti-death penalty activists. New members of the legislature are often the most ready and willing to hear from their constituents, and, with Republican control of the Senate, we knew that we needed to start talking to some of the new Republican legislators about the failings of the death penalty system. So a student contingent, including TCASK board reps Kathryn Lea and Lillian Siman, visited newly minted Senator Jack Johnson this afternoon to discuss the moratorium effort and the problems inherent in Tennessee’s death penalty system.

These kids are awesome! Luke Lea, all of 15 years old, quoted Sandra Day O’Connor verbatim and unprompted. Jack Lindsay laid out as eloquently as I could have the rationale for needing a moratorium. Kathryn used the Senator’s own pro-life position to passionately argue against the death penalty. The group, clearly, impressed the Senator – I mean, they impressed me and I’ve been working with them for a year!

Legislators love meeting with students. It’s a photo op, and they get to talk about how they support our children and our future, etc. They expect students to say, “I think the death penalty is mean.” But when teenagers care enough about an issue to come to the capitol and then eloquently and insightfully argue the merits of a public policy, it blows them away. I don’t know what TCASK would do without our students!

Oh, and the outcome? The Senator said he was “110% in support of a study.” Not too shabby.

(There was some celebration back in the TCASK office)

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 malfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very 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.

I worshiped with the good folks at Downtown Presbyterian Church yesterday, the congregation who hosted our “Free Paul House Concert” back in December. After the service, Julie Lee, the gifted artist who organized the concert for us, wanted to talk with me about what was happening with the Paul House case. She shared that Paul and his mother, Joyce, stayed on her mind during Christmas Eve as no news came down from the Governor concerning Paul’s release, which we had hoped to achieve by Christmas.

Here we are now in February, and still no word. And yet, I remain hopeful. The Nashville Scene is writing another story on Paul’s case due out next week. We are so grateful to The Scene for keeping this story alive. And, now that the Governor has enacted the 90 day moratorium on executions, we, at TCASK, can continue to focus our efforts on Paul’s release.

Please continue to write to the Governor asking for a pardon for Paul House. We will keep you updated as we make progress, but we need you to keep his name in front of the the Governor and the public. It is easy to become discouraged as getting justice for Paul is so slow in coming, but I believe that it is coming. When the writer for The Scene asked me if there remained any reason to hope that Paul would be pardoned, I responded, “Of course, we should be hopeful because we are on the side of the truth.” Let’s keep speaking the truth and trust that the truth will finally make Paul free.

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 malfunction 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 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.

The Memphis Flyer did a good job of covering TCASK’s response to the Governor’s decision to halt executions in Tennessee for 90 days. I’m personally proud of how quickly TCASK was able to get the news and get responses out to media contacts around the state. In this case, it’s paid off with an additional story in Memphis letting people know: the death penalty in Tennessee is broken and we need to look at way more than the execution protocols if we want to pretend that this system is constitutional.

Read the full article 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 disfunction. 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 soundness 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.

Governor Bredesen’s decision yesterday to halt executions due to concerns with the execution procedures has received news coverage all over the state. You can find quotes from the TCASK staff in all the major publications, including The Tennessean, Memphis Commercial Appeal, and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. You can also see us on TV, and I’d like to give a shout out to Fox 17’s Sky Arnold for great reporting on the Governor’s decision. Check it out here.

The Governor referred to the execution procedures as “sloppy” and he’s right, they certainly are that. “Inhumane” might be another word someone could use. But more importantly, Tennessee’s entire death penalty system is “sloppy.” We can’t guarantee that we won’t sentence innocent people to death (does anyone remember Paul House?). Our system can’t administer justice fairly, instead it unjustly targets the poor, racial minorities, and the mentally ill. And it sloppily wastes millions of tax-payer dollars.

We’ve taken a great first step in Tennessee, and the Governor should be applauded for his action, but we need, now more than ever, a complete study of the death penalty system. No more executions should be carried out until we can be guaranteed that we have a system that we can trust to be completely fair and accurate!

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 core trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be very much 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.

This afternoon, Governor Phil Bredesen declared a 90 day moratorium on executions while the state studies its death penalty system!!! This means that the executions of E. J. Harbison, Daryl Holton, Michael Boyd, and Pervis Payne are all off!

Please call Governor Bredesen at (615) 741-2001 and thank him for making a moral and logical decision. You can also email the Governor at phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

TCASK’s press release is below:

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 heartiness problem such as soul trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile malfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying heartiness conditions that can be extremely 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.

Though Alex and I thoroughly enjoy one another’s company, we are thrilled to announce that we will have some new faces in the office come August! TCASK recently received word that we have secured an intern from Vanderbilt Divinity School who will be with us for the academic year beginning in the fall. And as if that news was not great enough, yesterday, word came down that we were selected as a placement site for a Young Adult Volunteer through the Nashville Epiphany Project or NEP, a project of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) housed at Second Presbyterian, Nashville. To be selected as a site means that NEP will seek out a young person who is interested in working to abolish the death penalty, and if the program finds a match, TCASK will gain a volunteer organizer for a full year, 30 hours a week!

But, why stop there? TCASK is also applying for a Jesuit volunteer who would begin in the fall as well. Some of you may recall that we received the gift of Alex Wiesendanger through the JV program. My hope is that by the end of the summer, our office will be bustling with staff, ready to hit the streets, working toward the goal of abolition. TCASK continues to make great strides in changing public opinion about the death penalty, and the additional staff will enhance our efforts exponentially. Though we have been hit with some very bad news from the state with the two scheduled executions for this month, the news of these interns give us something to smile about.

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 disfunction. 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 malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be extremely 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.

Yesterday, the State Supreme Court set a new execution date for Daryl Holton, who was also nearly executed in September of last year. Holton is now scheduled to be executed on February 28th, only 6 days after the scheduled execution of E. J. Harbison on the 22nd. Ironically, Harbison’s execution (1:00 am on the 22nd, so really the night of the 21st) falls on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season on Lent, a season for repentance, forgiveness, and self reflection, as we prepare to commemorate another execution.

Holton’s execution date is considered very real and TCASK is very concerned about it. Holton’s date actually makes 5, that’s right 5, very serious execution dates set for the next 4 months, a frightening prospect, but a continually present one, for a state that has had only 2 executions in the past 47 years but also has the ninth largest death row in the country.

With impending executions, the clear brokenness of our capital punishment system and the need for a moratorium have never been clearer, and, at the same time as we face the possibility of our state beginning to kill people at a rate rivaled only by execution behemoths like TX, VA, and OK, we also face our best chances ever to pass legislation to halt the operation of this seriously flawed system. Our legislative partnerships have never been stronger and we’ve established functional TCASK groups all across the state. But we need everyone to take part, participate in a write-a-thon in your area, come to Justice Day on the Hill (March 27th) and get involved in your local TCASK chapter – or start one.

In the coming months, we can sit by as Tennessee becomes the next Texas, casually disregarding life and any semblance on justice and fairness, or we can stand up and make Tennessee follow in the footsteps of New Jersey and Illinois, calling a halt to executions and using this Lenten season to take a serious look at our death penalty system. The choice is yours.

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 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 very 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.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

She was right when she said it and she’s still right today. I think we forget this sometimes, but, last night, I had the pleasure of being reminded by the first official organizing meeting of the newly founded Jackson Chapter of TCASK! We even got coverage in the Jackson Sun.

We’ve been working in Jackson for about a year now, and we’ve developed a strong group of contacts, done several presentations, and held a successful write-a-thon, but always by the dedicated efforts of a few people functioning as individuals. Now we’ve finally set up a chapter, to take the load off individuals and actually organize a group.

Last night, after a number of phone calls on my part, we had our first organizing meeting with a core group of people. We had representatives of the NAACP, Union University, Lambuth University, and the Catholic Church present and it was a wonderful and connected group. In just over an hour (I was on a tight time line, because folks are busy) we planned:

• Coordinated opposition to the execution of E. J. Harbison
• A write-a-thon to bring Jackson folks together for fun and activism
• A lobby training as the first official group chapter meeting to prepare for
• Lobby day in Nashville.

All of this will sync nicely with several presentations that I have already scheduled in the city, and, through the church outreach involved, will lead to more such presentations to continue to expand our lists in Jackson.

Now here’s the important part – everyone left with a job to do! I’ll be preparing materials, typing notes, and following up on several comments. One member will be securing locations for our write-a-thon and prayer service, another will contact several churches and set up a venue for lobby training, a third will be the point person for the write-a-thon, a fourth is going to represent the Jackson Chapter on the TCASK board.

Why is this important? Two reasons. The first is buy-in. Each of the attendees left with something to do, bringing them into the work. Second, I’m not doing it! I mean, I’m only one person, our staff is only two. We cannot do all the work around the state to end the death penalty, so we need to empower activists all across the state to take action for themselves.

That’s exactly what the new Jackson Chapter is ready to do!

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 disfunction. 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 malfunction 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.

Kudos to Dwight Lewis whose column Innocent behind bars: Can you imagine the hell of it? appeared in Sunday’s Tennessean. The article included mention of Tennessee’s own Paul House and asked the question which many Tennesseans continue to ask, “Why is Paul Gregory House still on Tennessee’s death row?” If you have copies of the article, please send them to Governor Bredesen at The Governor’s Office, Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville, TN 37243-0001 and ask him the same question.

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 disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core 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 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.