TAMPA– Corless Barfield Trial Group, in conjunction with Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) and Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), has released a video interview on the death penalty featuring Christine Henderson, the Senior Manager of the EJUSA Trauma and Healing Network. The video is the second in a series entitled “Voices on the Death Penalty.” Ms. Henderson is uniquely qualified to speak to the issue through both a professional and personal lens.
In the video, Ms. Henderson describes the work of ‘bridging the gap’ between people of all backgrounds and beliefs to unite against the death penalty. She shatters myths about public opinion and the death penalty by underscoring the power of working with conservatives, evangelicals, and other groups on successful death penalty repeal efforts across the country. In the spirit of building bridges across divisions in our country, the date of publication for this video was chosen very intentionally– September 15 is International Democracy Day.
Ms. Henderson also shares the personal experience of losing her ‘favorite uncle’ to murder. It is a powerful moment in the video and one that reveals a truth too often lost in discussions about capital punishment: that many victims’ family members find meaning in their grief through working to seek restoration and healing.
“I’ve lost someone so I know that when we say ‘vengeance is mine’, it’s not going to help me,” said Ms. Henderson. “How do you live in a society where you kill people to teach people not to kill people?”
by Mark Elliott
The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out both the conviction and death sentence of Paul Hildwin due to DNA evidence. Paul has been on Florida’s Death Row for almost 30 years. For many years the state refused to permit DNA testing comparisons. The case could still be re-tried in Hernando County. From the Supreme Court’s…
