Join TADP, ACLU, NAACP Nashville Branch, Faith Leaders of Color Coalition (flocc), Witness to Innocence, Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), Free Hearts, and others to tell Governor Lee to stop Tony Carruthers’ scheduled execution and to test the DNA evidence!

We need you to turn out on Monday, May 18, to urge Governor Lee to act!

Please plan to arrive around 12:30 p.m. outside the entrance to the Cordell Hull Building on Rep. John Lewis Way (5th Avenue N). The march will begin at 12:45 p.m. with a rally following at 1:00 in front of the Capitol steps across from Speaker Beth Harwell Plaza. The petition delivery will follow.

You can still sign the petition here!

In a powerful press conference on April 30th, Witness to Innocence and the Tennessee Innocence Project asked Governor Lee to stop the May 21 execution of Tony Carruthers and to test the DNA that could prove his innocence.

Watch the press conference here.

Tennessee residents Ray Krone, Sabrina Butler-Smith, and Ndume Olatushani, all wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for crimes that they did not commit, shared their experiences and reiterated the necessity of leaving no stone unturned in the search for the truth, particularly when a life is on the line.

Mr. Olatushani stated, “As long as we have the death penalty, innocent people are going to be executed. I have no doubt about that.”

Tennessee Innocence Project’s Jason Gichner added, “DNA doesn’t take sides. It’s science. It’s objective. Law enforcement can use DNA to solve crimes and find guilty people. But we can also use DNA to validate claims of innocence and bring innocent people home.”

Ray Krone shared that without DNA testing in his case, he would have likely been executed. He explained that the State of Arizona tried to dismiss his attorney’s request for further DNA testing as a “fishing expedition” that would serve no purpose. The court disagreed. The DNA not only proved Mr. Krone’s innocence but identified the actual killer, a man already in prison for other violent crimes.

Sabrina Butler-Smith stated, “Just give people the opportunity. Let them prove their innocence. They are fighting for their lives.”

On May 6, Memphians will gather at the National Civil Right Museum at 1:00 p.m. to continue the call to Governor Lee to stop this execution and request the DNA testing in this case. If you are in the Memphis area, please join with faith and community leaders, as well as those directly impacted, in support of this request.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Please sign and share the letter to Governor Lee and call him at (615) 741-2001. Tell him to pause Mr. Carruthers’ scheduled execution and to order the DNA testing.

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!​

​

We at TADP are heartbroken. Harold Wayne Nichols was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m. CT on Thursday December 11. And what has changed with his execution? Nothing…only more violence, more victims, more death.

Thanks to all of you who wrote, called, attended events, shared social media, and made your voices heard. We know that the death penalty is a morally bankrupt and failed system that must be dismantled. Together we will keep doing everything we can to ensure its end.

Below is the statement from Mr. Nichols’ amazing legal team. We give thanks for them and their tireless efforts on his behalf. Please hold them in your thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.

DECEMBER 11, 2025 – Statement from Justyna Scalpone and Deborah Drew, Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender; Stephen Ferrell, Susanne Bale and Luke Ihnen, Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee

Reports out today will likely focus on the “how” of Wayne’s execution, but what most needs to be addressed is the “why,” why today we forcibly ended 35 years of remorse and accountability.

In this moment, we should not attempt to take solace in the hollow excuse that executing Wayne somehow delivered justice when we all know it did not. Instead, our state sent the message that no one can rise beyond the crimes they committed decades earlier and that redemption deserves no mercy. Executing Wayne served but one goal: retribution.

Our legal team, although devastated by the State’s actions, is so very grateful to have had the opportunity to know Wayne and be inspired by his incredible spirit. Through years of difficult self-work and coming to terms with his own trauma and the pain he caused others, Wayne became, against all odds, a trustworthy, responsible, and compassionate person, greatly respected and loved by many. He transformed into the man that Ann Pulley, Karen Pulley’s mother, had challenged him to become 35 years ago.

Wayne, you will forever remain in our hearts.

I am writing today as a family member of a murder victim.  

Almost six years ago, Nick Sutton was executed in Tennessee for his crimes, including the murder of my great-uncle. Charles Almon III was my grandmother’s only brother and losing him left a gap in our family that was never healed.  

My great-grandfather lived many years longer than his only son, whose life was cut short by murder. Before his death, my great-grandfather said, “Please don’t let them kill that man.” Despite his heartache, he desired peace and healing, not more violence.  

My heart breaks for any victim’s family member trapped in the death penalty process, as my family was, with its empty promise of closure that is just that — empty. Mr. Sutton’s execution did not erase the loss and pain caused by the crime he committed decades before. Instead, it only brought up painful memories for my family and added yet another tragedy to those that had already occurred. 

The death penalty did not offer healing to my family. On the contrary, every time an execution is scheduled and then carried out in Tennessee, my family’s pain is brought to the surface again, forcing us to relive this terrible moment in our lives.  

Instead of offering tangible assistance for the long-term process of healing and recovery, the death penalty creates an ongoing emotional burden for families like mine, and an unnecessary financial burden for our state. With the opportunity for alternative judgments like life without the possibility of parole, there are sentences that are less expensive than pursuing the death penalty. There is no need to continue this costly system.   

Taking a life does not restore life. While the state pours millions into executions, many victims are still waiting — for support, services and the basic things needed to assist in their recovery and the rebuilding of their lives, to the degree that this is possible.  

The amount of time and money our state spends on supporting victims is minuscule compared to the millions spent on maintaining the death penalty system, including Tennessee’s recently reported purchase of execution drugs for nearly $600,000. Our state spends so many tax dollars to execute a handful of individuals who have already been incarcerated for decades, which does nothing for the majority of victims of violence or prevents the next violent crime.

Gov. Bill Lee and members of the Tennessee legislature: We don’t need more death. We need more care.

What truly helps victims is access to trauma-recovery services, financial and funeral assistance, counseling, safe housing and violence prevention programs.

As a surviving family member of a murder victim whose family knows firsthand the trauma of losing a loved one to violence (trauma that is only exacerbated by the death penalty system), I urge you to reconsider Tennessee’s reliance on this system.  

Instead, let’s invest these funds into victims’ services, evidence-based violence prevention programs and solving unsolved homicides — real solutions that truly support victims, reduce harm and improve public safety for all of us.

Reverend Anna Lee is a United Methodist Church Minister and local pastor in Knoxville.  

Published in the Tennessean on December 9, 2025

Today is Giving Tuesday, and TADP hopes you will support our work as we finish up 2025 strong and make plans for next year!

Your support of TADP today will enable us to:

Work to prevent executions. TADP will engage more Tennesseans to take action to stop executions while identifying the most impactful messengers to educate the public and to create a political climate for the governor to act. We will utilize op-eds, sign-on letters, strategic press conferences, and statewide events as our organizing and educational tools and build on our social media following, which has grown exponentially over the past year! We will push for more transparency around executions and call out the death penalty’s failures.

Educate more victims of violence about victim compensation and empower them to demand a legal system more focused on harm reduction. TADP will empower victims of violence and surviving families of murder victims to use their voices to educate Tennesseans that state resources should be redirected from the death penalty to more investment in victim services and violence prevention. Through her work on the Healed People Heal People campaign, TADP Community Outreach Director Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick has become a leading victim advocate in Tennessee and a national spokesperson on restorative justice. In partnership with Mothers Over Murder, TADP will hold another Healed People Heal People conference in Jackson in early 2026.

Encourage conservatives to include the death penalty in the pro-life conversation. Tennessee Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (TNCC) Director Jasmine Woodson will make the case that the death penalty is a pro-life issue. Through her outreach, Jasmine will empower more Tennessee conservatives to raise concerns about the death penalty’s lack of alignment with the conservative values of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and pro-life policies. On March 31, 2026, TNCC will host Adam Luck, a conservative and former Chair of the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Parole, as a speaker for a breakfast at the Tennessee legislature.

Engage more Tennessee Catholics. TADP Intern Raechel Kiesel Ryan is working with the Tennessee Catholic Conference, Catholic schools, and Catholic prison ministries to create opportunities for more Tennessee Catholics to become activated to end the death penalty. Raechel is currently organizing a Tennessee Catholic youth rally set for January. Stay tuned for more information!

These are just a few of the plans TADP has for 2026! With your support, we can make all this happen and more.  

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough–Meister Eckhart

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, we at TADP want to express our sincere gratitude to all of you who join with us in our work to end the death penalty, prevent violence, and support victims of violent crime in Tennessee.

Though Tennessee moved forward with the executions of Oscar Smith and Byron Black this year, your support enabled us to lift up the voices of victims of violence and surviving family members of murder victims, the faith community, advocates for those with disabilities, and death row exonerees to speak out to stop these executions. Because of you, we were able to move thousands of Tennesseans to tell our elected leaders that the death penalty is a failed system that does not support victims of violent crime and does not make us safer.

The support you have demonstrated over the past months to stop these executions inspires us and tops the list of those things for which we are grateful this year. Your willingness to act on behalf of Tennesseans who are trapped in broken systems, caught in cycles of violence, and deemed disposable by our society is a testament to who you are and to your belief that it doesn’t have to be this way.

As you know, Harold Wayne Nichols faces execution on December 11, just a little over two weeks from now. Mr. Nichols has requested clemency from Governor Lee while his federal public defenders have taken the Tennessee Department of Correction to court to turn over pertinent information about the lethal injection protocol, a protocol whose failure was on full display during the torturous execution of Byron Black. We will continue to provide you updates about this case as well as actions you can take to prevent another execution.

With you, we at TADP agree that another way is possible. Together, we will keep speaking and working and acting and living into this new way of seeking to do justice in Tennessee by centering healing and prevention over excessive punishment and retribution.

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving,

Stacy and the TADP team

On August 5, Tennessee executed Byron Black with pentobarbital. As reported by every media witness present for his execution, Mr. Black was not rendered unconscious but gasped for air and lifted his head multiple times, stating, “It hurts so bad. I can’t do this.”

His autopsy revealed that he suffered from pulmonary edema during his execution and that even after he was declared dead by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), Mr. Black experienced significant cardiac activity for at least two minutes.

Given the secrecy of Tennessee’s new protocol, its reliance on pentobarbital, the State’s refusal to deactivate Mr. Black’s defibrillator, and the total lack of judicial review, this result was predictable.

On December 11, the State of Tennessee plans to execute Harold Wayne Nichols in the same way.

Under Tennessee law, Mr. Nichols must select his method of execution no later than November 11. To better inform his ability to make this decision, his attorneys have requested information from the TDOC for months with no success. Given the grave problems that occurred during Mr. Black’s execution, this information is more critical than ever. To date, Mr. Nichols has received no information from the State and so he has not chosen an execution method. This means that the State will rely on lethal injection by default.

Mr. Nichols’ attorneys have filed suit in Knox County Chancery Court against the TDOC for violating the Tennessee Public Records Act by repeatedly refusing to release records related to the State’s execution process and recent executions. A hearing will occur this month.

“Tennesseans deserve to know that the Tennessee Department of Correction is following its own rules and that executions are being carried out in a manner that is not cruel and torturous,” said Mr. Nichols’ attorney Luke Ihnen. “Transparency is not optional, it’s the law.”

TAKE ACTION NOW: Send this updated letter to Governor Lee, urging him again to pause all executions until the court has had the opportunity to fully review this protocol.

What happened to Byron Black cannot be allowed to happen again

To learn more about the problems with lethal injection, TADP encourages you to attend an event this week with University of Richmond Law School Professor Corinna Barrett Lain, author of Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection, including an event on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7:00 p.m. CT at Christ The King Church in Nashville.

You can watch this Nov. 12 presentation on Facebook Live at bit.ly/lethalinjectionconvo.

You can also join us on Friday, Nov. 14, from Noon to 1 for lunch at First Congregational Church in Memphis. Lunch is provided. Register here.