TN DEATH PENALTY BLOG

We are traveling through Tennessee's heartland and highways, meeting folks and starting conversations about our death penalty.

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

 

Check out TADP's New Website

We are in the midst of a transition from this site to our new website. So, if you are wondering why we haven't blogged in a while, it is because we are blogging on the new site.

When you check it out, you will see that there are still some things we are working on (like a picture for the home page), but we hope to have those issues taken care of as soon as possible.

Once we are settled into the new site, www.tcask.org will point to it.

Please check it out www.tennesseedeathpenalty.org

Thursday, April 08, 2010

 

More Evangelical Pastors Speaking Out on the Death Penalty

Reverend Matt Randles, Pastor of Headwaters Covenant Church in Helena, Montana, has a great piece in the The Washington Post's "On Faith" Section. This thoughtful reflection is instructive for all Christians who are wrestling with the issue of the death penalty.

Read it here.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

 

Moving Story about Sisters' Reponse to Murder

In today's Chicago Tribune, you can read a powerful story of the love among sisters who have suffered a great deal of tragedy. The article tells the story of two sisters struggling to deal with the brutal murder of their pregnant sister, Nancy Bishop Langert, and her husband, Richard, 20 years ago by a teen-aged intruder.

Nancy's two sisters, Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, and Jeanne Bishop, have dedicated their lives to honoring their sister's life through their work to reduce violence, including work to abolish the death penalty and enact tougher gun control laws. The sisters also co-founded the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Lifers, which has lobbied against parole-granting efforts for juvenile offenders with life sentences, the sentence that their sister and brother-in-law's killer received.

This is a powerful story of hope, in the face of great tragedy. We all have much to learn from the witness of this family.

Read the story here.

Monday, April 05, 2010

 

Amnesty International Releases Global Death Penalty Report for 2009

Amnesty International recently released its global death penalty report showing 700 people were executed in 18 countries in 2009 with at least 2,000 people sentenced to death. 179 countries had no executions in 2009. Countries with the highest number of executions were Iran with at least 388, Iraq with at least 120, Saudi Arabia with at least 69, and the United States with 52. China continues to execute more people than the rest of the world combined, but the data is kept secret.

For the first time, there were no reported executions in Europe, and no executions took place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Mongolia for the first time in many years. Burundi and Togo abolished the death penalty in 2009.

The U.S. was the only country in the Americas to carry out an execution. What is wrong with this picture?

The United Nations General Assembly has called for a moratorium on all executions.

You can read the full report here.