Tuesday, March 30, 2010

 

Bob Clement Reflects on His Father, Governor Frank Clement, and Tennessee's Death Penalty

In Sunday's Tennessean, former U.S. Congressman Bob Clement, reflects on his father's struggle with the death penalty as Governor of Tennessee. Governor Frank Clement visited the inmates on death row and talked with their families, something most Governors will not do. During his third term, he asked the legislature to abolish the death penalty, coming within one vote in the house after the Senate voted for abolition 25-7. With abolition narrowly denied, Governor Clement commuted the sentences of all those on Tennessee's death row to life sentences.

We continue to be grateful for Governor Clement's leadership on the issue of the death penalty in Tennessee which has helped to keep Tennessee's execution rate lower than other Southern states. I hope that as more people understand the failures of the current system, Tennessee can become the first Southern state to repeal the death penalty.

Read the article here.
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