“I’m opposed to the death penalty not because I think it’s unconstitutional per se – although I think it’s been applied in ways that are unconstitutional – but it really is a moral view, and that is that the taking of life is not the way to handle even the most significant of crimes. … Who among anyone is not above redemption? I think we have to be careful in executing final judgment. The one thing my faith teaches me – I don’t get to play God. I think you are short-cutting the whole process of redemption. … I don’t want to be the person that stops that process from taking place.”
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice
“As a former member of the U.S. Air Force and a postal employee, I believed in the American criminal justice system. After what happened to me, I would not trust the state to execute a person for committing a crime against another person. I now know how the system works. It’s not about justice or fairness or equality. Any chance I can, whether I start with one or two people or a whole auditorium filled with people, I’ll tell them what happened to me. Because if it happened to me, it can happen to anyone.”
Ray Krone, the nation’s 100th death row exoneree who now lives in Tennessee
“As a conservative, I believe our government should treat everyone equally under the law. People should not be treated differently because of how much money they have, the color of their skin, or where they live. Yet, we see this happening over and over again in the application of the death penalty. Simply put: Even if capital punishment is justifiable for some crimes, we are incapable of carrying it out in a just way.”
Pastor Kevin Riggs, Franklin Community Church, Franklin, TN