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.