Yesterday, TADP joined the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP for their 11th Annual Legislative Day on the Hill. The Conference’s members spent the day learning more about the legislative process and how they can get involved; discussing current legislation on important issues like education, health care, voting rights, criminal justice, and immigration; and meeting with their representatives to express their concerns.

Among the group’s legislative priorities is a moratorium on the death penalty. TADP Executive Director, Stacy Rector, spoke to the attendees about the ineffectiveness, inefficiency, high cost, and unfairness of our broken capital punishment system. She highlighted the impact of the Troy Davis case in Georgia and how it further shifted public opinion of the death penalty by raising concerns from people from all walks of life.  She also noted NAACP President Benjamin Jealous’ recent statement to the Maryland legislature about the need to abolish the state’s death penalty. He stated, “The state of Maryland continues to waste money on the death penalty, continues to put citizens’ lives at risk by not investing enough in homicide victims services, so that a few politicians can feel tough on crime.”

Tennessee is working toward a full repeal campaign like Maryland’s, but we are not there yet, and there is much groundwork to be laid before we can successfully move forward with such a campaign.  We look forward to continuing to work with the NAACP and partnering with others who are concerned about our state’s priorities and educate more and more communities about why the death penalty needs to go.

Photo by Zepfanman.com

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 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 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.

TADP is sad to report that on Saturday evening, February 4th,  longtime, Tennessee capital defense attorney, Bill Redick, passed away after a battle with cancer.

In the words of his colleague and friend Brad MacLean:

Bill was a giant in the Tennessee death penalty defense community.  He worked on death penalty cases from the early 1980’s and served as the director of the Capital Case Resource Center of Tennessee (CCRC) from its founding in 1988 until it was closed by the state and federal governments in 1995.

Bill helped author Tools for the Ultimate Trial, The Tennessee Death Penalty Defense Manual, published by the CCRC and distributed by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL), which set the standard for capital defense representation in Tennessee – a standard, too often ignored by defense attorneys and the courts, that has continued to evolve since that time due largely to Bill’s work.  He served as Chairman of TACDL’s Death Penalty Committee from 1984 to 1995.  He founded and directed The Tennessee Justice Project from 2004 until 2007 when his illness took a hold of him.  In 1992 Bill was the first recipient of TACDL’s Death Penalty Award for outstanding work in the death penalty arena; in 2003 he received the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Legal Service Award; and in 2010 he received TACDL’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed on a criminal defense lawyer in Tennessee.

Bill was directly or indirectly involved in scores of capital post-conviction and habeas corpus cases.   He won relief for several condemned inmates, and none of his clients have been executed – a remarkable record.  His devotion to his clients, his tenacity, and the quality of his work over the course of an entire career were unparalleled.  Bill dedicated his life and soul to the legal representation of the most marginalized and vilified members of our society.  He had an unyielding vision of what capital defense representation was about.  He set the bar for all of us.

I have never known a person who was as dedicated to a cause, as steadfastly honest in his work, and as humble as Bill.  His impact on our community was far-reaching and can be felt in all that we do.  We will sorely miss him.

TADP echoes Brad’s sentiments and feels honored to have worked with Bill through the years. We are also particularly grateful for his service on the Tennessee Committee to Study the Administration of the Death Penalty from 2007-2009 and for his commitment to equal justice for all.  Thank you, Bill.

Photo by Jim McGuire

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 health 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 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.

At the request of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, the state’s Supreme Court has set the execution of Edwin Hart Turner for 6 pm on February 8.  Hart is on death row for killing two men at a Mississippi gas station in 1995.  He had no prior criminal history.

Numerous mental health experts have reviewed the case and have reached the conclusion that Hart was suffering from a severe mental disorder at the time of the crimes which would have impacted his moral and legal culpability.  These experts agree that at the very minimum, Hart’s history demonstrates the need for a searching mental health review.  They point to a laundry list of facts that merit further inquiry:

* Hart’s own documented history of mental disturbances, bizarre behavior leading up to the offense, and repeated hospitalizations throughout adolescence for impulsiveness, agitated depression, and suicidal thinking and actions.

* Hart’s family history of mental illness, including a grandmother and a great-grandmother who were institutionalized with diagnoses of schizophrenia, prevalent addiction in the family, and suicide attempts from both parents.

* Hart’s documented history indicative of traumatic brain injury, including being unresponsive and potentially anoxic at birth, hospital treatment on at least three occasions for head injuries, battles with substance abuse including gasoline huffing as a young teenager,  a shotgun blast to the face and head, and an 18-point drop in performance IQ (from 108 to 90). At the time of his offense, neither PET scans nor fMRI were in wide use, or used on Hart.

* Hart’s exposure to traumatic events during childhood, including witnessing intense physical fights between his parents, his father’s horrifying death and his mother’s threats to beat him if he cried about it.  Hart has never been evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

* Developments in the treatment of mental illness since 1995 which demonstrate the danger that anti-depressants (like Prozac) may actually compound mania when prescribed to individuals with bipolar disorder.

Without intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Governor of Mississippi, Hart Turner, a man suffering from a life-long, hereditary and crippling mental illness, will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.  Please help!  Ask Governor Bryant to stay Mr. Turner’s execution pending a review of his mental health.

Contact Mississippi’s Governor:

The Hon. Phil Bryant

Phone: 601.359.3150

Camp.Murphy@governor.ms.gov

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 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 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.

Last night, TADP staff along with Tennessee exonerees Michael McCormick and Paul House, attended the sold-out screening of a new documentary film, West of Memphis, at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville. This was the documentary’s first post-Sundance Film Festival showing.

The documentary examines the case of the famed West Memphis Three: Damien Echols, James Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. – friends in eastern Arkansas convicted of the 1993 brutal murders of three 8-year-old Cub Scouts and friends Michael Moore, Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers. Echols received a death sentence, while Baldwin and Misskelley received life sentences. The three served 18 years in prison and then in 2010, after much publicity and celebrity support, the defendants got new hearings from the Arkansas Supreme Court when defense lawyers pointed to new DNA evidence that implicated others. The men were released this past August on the rarely used Alford plea, which allows them to maintain innocence while acknowledging that there is enough evidence for convictions.

In addition to showing the unfolding relationship between Echols and his wife, Lorri Davis, who helped in the long struggle to free the men, the film takes a hard look at the faulty confessions and physical evidence that were used to convict the three teenagers, as well as the lives of the victims’ families in the aftermath of the murders and the trial. Two of the victims’ parents, who believe the three men were not involved in the murders of their sons, attended last night’s screening. Also present were James Baldwin, the defense attorneys, as well as Echols and Davis, who were co-producers of the documentary. They all took questions from the crowd after the screening along with the film’s director, Amy Berg.

Though the West Memphis Three are now free, they are still awaiting justice. The Alford plea closes the case, but does not exonerate the men. This deal not only keeps the murders on their record, but it also keeps the state from finding the real killer. Please take action now. Sign this petition urging Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe to fully pardon the three men based on their innocence.

(Photo credit: Jeanne Reasonover of The Tennessean. Before the showing of West of Memphis at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville on Thursday are: Amanda Hobbs, left; Pam Hobbs, mother of victim Stevie Branch; Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three and also a producer of the documentary; Amy Berg, West of Memphis director; John Mark Byers, adoptive father of victim Christopher Byers; Lorri Davis, Echols’ wife and another producer; and Jason Baldwin, another of the West Memphis Three.)

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 dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction 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 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.

After nearly five years of legal battles, Joe D’Ambrosio of Ohio has become the 140th person released from death row nationwide when his 1989 murder conviction and death sentence were thrown out by the courts.

In 2006, the court ruled that the prosecutors in D’Ambrosio’s trial withheld crucial evidence that “‘would have substantially increased a reasonable juror’s doubt of D’Ambrosio’s guilt.'” While the court decided to vacate the charges against D’Ambrosio and released him on bail, the state continued to seek a retrial, until a federal District Court ruled in 2010 that the state could no longer pursue prosecution. The US Supreme Court’s refusal to hear any further appeals from the prosecutors confirms the lower courts rulings on D’Ambrosio’s wrongful conviction.

The increasing number of death row exonerees casts an ominous shadow on the legitimacy of the death penalty. If so many individuals have languished on death row for years like Joe D’Ambrosio with evidence finally convincing a court of their wrongful convictions, how many more people with questionable convictions are still sitting on death row waiting to be executed?

Tennessee now has three individuals released from death row after decades fighting their wrongful convictions. These three are counted who are among the 140 nationwide. Tennessee has executed six people since 1960 and has released three individuals since 2000 because of new evidence demonstrating their wrongful convictions.

Is this the sign of a system that is working? Given that Tennessee has alternatives like life or life without parole that are less expensive, hold offenders accountable, and do not risk the execution of an innocent person, why do we continue to trust such the system has the ability to get it right?

Photo courtesy of Lynn Ischay

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 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.

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 core 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 extremely 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.

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral

begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.

Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.

Through violence you may murder the liar,

but you cannot murder the lie,

nor establish the truth.

Through violence you murder the hater,

but you do not murder hate.

In fact, violence merely increases hate.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,

adding deeper darkness

to a night already devoid of stars.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness;

only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;

only love can do that.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 disfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as soul trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction 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 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.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that for first time in almost half a century, homicide has fallen off of the list of the nation’s top 15 causes of death. One reason suggested in this Associated Press article is increased prevention, in the form of action against domestic violence. Some also credit better police work and public health programs aimed at reducing violence. Changing demographics are also an important factor, as the largest segment of the population is now 50 and older. One thing is certain, however: the rarely used and randomly applied death penalty is not the reason for the decline in the U.S. homicide rate.

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 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.

Opening Friday, January 6 at Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre is Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, a powerful documentary that examines a triple homicide case in Conroe, Texas, and “probes the human psyche to explore why people kill—and why a state kills.” On Sunday, January 8, following the  2:30 p.m. screening of the film, The Belcourt will host a FLiCX (Faculty Led Interactive Cinematic Explorations) discussion, led by Dr. Randy Spivey from Lipscomb University.

Today, Nashville Scene published a story about their interview with Herzog, whose recent films include Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Grizzly Man. Herzog’s latest documentary consists of conversations with those involved in a senseless crime in which several people were killed just to get access to a car. This includes a conversation with 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry, who was scheduled to die just eight days after his interview with the filmmaker. Through these conversations, Herzog achieves what he describes as “a gaze into the abyss of the human soul.” He also gives us a look at the other convicted killer, Jason Burkett; his father, also incarcerated; a woman who lost both her mother and brother in the crime; as well as a chaplain and former executioner who’ve been with death row prisoners as they’ve taken their final breaths.

We hope you can make it to The Belcourt for the screening and what should prove to be an interesting discussion to follow.

Film photos above courtesy of The Belcourt

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 health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction 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.

The Associated Press ran an inspiring story earlier this week about the survivors of the mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, last January that severely injured Representative Gabrielle Giffords as well as 12 others and killed six. The article describes the survivors’ ongoing journeys of physical and emotional healing while highlighting their tremendous strength and ability to move past their anger together.

Several of the victims noted that they are trying to focus on the positive by getting more involved in the community. Some speak to students about the power of forgiveness.  Others formed a program that helps with various school projects and an organization that raises awareness about mental illness and bullying in schools. The Tucson shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, 23, has bipolar disorder and showed signs of being disturbed for at least two years before the shooting.

These victims’ stories are a testament to the potential and power of forgiveness. Pam Simon, a staffer for Representative Gabrielle Giffords and a victim who survived gunshots to her chest and wrist, said she was still in the hospital when she decided to forgive Loughner. She said she only now feels “profound sadness” that he didn’t get treatment for his bipolar disorder before it was too late. “It’s absolutely pointless to weigh myself down with anger or hatred toward this young man,” she said.

Even in the face of great personal pain and suffering, these individuals are even more determined to improve their communities and the lives of those around them. TADP gives thanks for their witness.

Photo by Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

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 disfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction 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 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.