Instead of funding executions, Tennessee should support victims of violence
Five years ago, on a beautiful July day, my son Rodney J.B. Armstrong was shot and killed during a pool party at my home in Murfreesboro.
My life since that devastating day bears little resemblance to the years before it.
In the years since Rodney's death, I've met so many other grieving mothers like me.
I've heard from countless victim family members about the things they need to begin the process of healing. I've also learned that the death penalty is not at the top of that list.
In Tennessee, our State has been spending vast resources on capital punishment. At the same time, programs intended to serve families like mine and to prevent violence remain underfunded. This misguided allocation of public funds may look tough on the surface, but it perpetuates the cruel cycle of pain, violence and loss that fails to make Tennesseans safer.
Meanwhile, recent changes to federal funding streams have put services for survivors of child abuse, elder abuse, gun violence, and sexual assault at risk. Yet in mid-March, The Tennessean reported that the state has spent nearly $600,000 since 2017 on lethal injection drugs. Much of that money appears to be for executions scheduled to resume in May 2025.
We are left to wonder why the State has chosen to use scarce resources in this way.
Opinion: Tennessee should end capital punishment and cancel execution dates for five men
That is an exorbitant amount of money to buy lethal chemicals to kill a handful of prisoners who have been incarcerated without incident for years, if not decades. Those same public funds could, instead, do so much good work to assist survivors and support community-based violence prevention efforts.
For example, last year, the Tennessee Legislature made changes aimed at improving access to resources through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. This program helps cover funeral expenses, trauma counseling, and other important services for survivors of violence and their families. Public education and other support are essential to ensuring that those who qualify for such resources are able to access them.
As the creator of the Healed People Heal People campaign, I am honored to lead it alongside Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Mothers Over Murder, two organizations that mean so much to me. Together, we've been working to provide essential education and support that truly improves the lives of Tennesseans. Executions cannot do so.
The young man who killed my son was not sentenced to death, but that was never my focus. I knew my son's life could not be restored by the sanctioned killing of the person who took it. Once the criminal proceedings ended, I turned my attention to my broken heart, my family, my community, and our collective healing.
I urge Governor Lee to rethink plans to resume executions, and I am not alone. Other violence survivors in Tennessee also believe that the costs of executions, both in dollars and pain, are excessive, and the benefits murky at best.
This is why dozens of victims and surviving family members have signed a letter to Governor Lee asking him to stop executions for those who are already incarcerated and instead to invest these resources into solving unsolved cases and supporting victim services to make us all safer and healthier.
Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick is the director of community outreach for Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and Victim Advocate and Founder, Rodney's Village.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Healing for violence victims is in support, not executions | Opinion
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