Southern governors must reckon with the death penalty: op-ed

NewsAlabama Death Chamber use (Photo/Alabama Department of Corrections)Alabama Department of CorrectionsThis is a guest opinion columnOver the past seven months, I have been directly involved in three death penalty cases that compelled Southern, white, conservative, Christian governors to confront the profound moral and legal questions surrounding individuals facing capital punishment.In Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence of Tremane Wood. In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey granted clemency to Charles “Sonny” Burton, commuting his death sentence to life without parole, and in Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee halted the execution of Tony Carruthers after a seriously botched execution attempt and granted a one-year reprieve. These cases exposed the persistent flaws that have plagued the application of the death penalty in the South. Capital cases in Southern states are marred by racial disparities, questions of innocence, inadequate legal representation, and controversial legal doctrines such as felony murder, judges overriding juries’ sentencing decisions, and unreasonably high standards governing intellectual disability claims. Time and time again, governors are called to intervene because the legal system has failed to guarantee fairness, reliability, and justice.The South remains the region most responsible for carrying out executions in the United States, and the death penalty’s roots are deep. Still, for many Southerners, their understanding of justice is informed first not by politics or policy, but by their religious leaders and institutions.So, as more and more religious bodies have created resolutions and statements condemning the death penalty, like Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian and Unitarian conferences, we are seeing those changes reflected in changing attitudes in the pews. As a Black woman leading faith-based death penalty abolition work in the South, I am witnessing this shift first-hand. Nearly all current U.S. governors publicly identify with a religious tradition, and the vast majority identify as Christian. The South remains the bible belt of those who proclaim to be churchgoers and the death belt of those sustaining executions in America.Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the overwhelming majority of executions have occurred not in lesser religious Northern states, but in deeply religious Southern states like Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. These few states alone continue to drive the nation’s use of capital punishment. Recent data also shows that many people who were executed in the South have had nearly all-white juries or suffered from significant intellectual impairments, severe mental illness, or histories of severe childhood trauma.The South has an opportunity to embrace a culture of life and end executions that are plagued by bias and outdated practices. The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime, it is incredibly fiscally irresponsible, DNA remains untested in many cases, and frequent botched executions show how unprepared states are to carry out state killing. I have learned from my interactions with the community that the death penalty does not heal many victims’ families, reverse harm, or improve community safety.Southern Governors can get this right. There is cover for Republican and moderate governors as more and more conservatives are opposing the death penalty. There is also a decline in support for the death penalty among younger voters. Gallup and Pew Research polling consistently show that adults under 30 are the least supportive age group for the death penalty, with support typically ranging from about 40% to 55%, and opposition of executions or preference for life imprisonment increasing every year.For governors who profess both a commitment to justice and a Christian faith rooted in mercy, these cases present more than an opportunity for individual case-by-case reckoning, they demand a collective moral reckoning. The power to grant clemency is not merely a gubernatorial power; it is an opportunity to shift the moment and the culture toward one marked by mercy, redemption, and the dignity of every human life. Southern governors in particular have a unique opportunity to lead the nation away from a punishment tool rooted in retribution toward a vision of life-affirming justice. The time has come for Southern governors to exercise conscience and courage and bring an end to state sponsored death.Joia Erin Thornton is the Founder & National Director of FLOCC (Faith Leaders of Color Coalition) working to address the racial implications and inequities in the American death penalty system.