Many Americans support capital punishment until they hear a story or meet someone who makes it personal to them, anti-death penalty activist Melissa Browning says. “Everything changes when you see it through the eyes of someone who is personally affected,” said…
Son of executed woman says no one has the right to say someone cannot change
The youngest son of the first woman executed in Georgia in 70 years spoke publicly for the first time about the experience in a breakout session at last week’s Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C. Dakota Brookshire — son…
Opponents see indicators that death penalty on its way out in U.S.
Melissa Browning was drawn deep into the anti-death penalty movement when the state of Georgia was trying to kill Kelly Gissendaner last year. There were plenty of ups, including multiple delays in her execution date. And there were downs, too,…
McAfee prof sees hope in Gissendaner’s life and example, despite execution
By Jeff Brumley Melissa Browning’s Facebook page tells the story. More specifically, it tells Kelly Gissendaner’s story. Post after post describes the life and death of the Georgia inmate executed by lethal injection last week. “The amazing grace of Kelly…
Praying angry
So much death. So much hurt. We look around now, and it’s all we see. State-sponsored executions, with more to come. Mass shootings. A plane crash in Afghanistan. It’s hard to come away from this with any feelings of hope….
Kelly Gissendaner, the death penalty, and being pro-life
The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development. This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global…
Faith leaders renew campaign advocating for woman on death row
By Bob Allen Georgia faith leaders including former Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal gathered Sept. 23 outside the office of the Board of Pardons and Paroles protesting the newly rescheduled execution of the only woman on Georgia’s death…
Woman on death row files lawsuit over her ‘botched’ execution
By Bob Allen A death-row prisoner whose March 2 execution was postponed due to problems with the drugs to be used for her lethal injection has filed a federal lawsuit claiming violation of her constitutional right against punishments that are…
Killing Kelly: An open letter to Georgia’s Christian citizens
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Dear Georgia’s Christian Citizens: Unless something dramatic changes, tonight, March 2, your employees in the Georgia prison system, enforcing your laws, paid by your tax dollars, will take a Christian woman named Kelly Gissendaner…