Battered Woman Scheduled for Execution In TN
Battered Woman Scheduled To Be Executed in Tennessee. FROM THE NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE IN DEFENSE OF BATTERED WOMEN:
Dear People of Conscience and Goodwill:
The state of Tennessee is scheduled to execute Gaile Owens on September 28th, 2010 unless we can convince Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to commute her death sentence to life in prison. PLEASE Take a few minutes to read the information below. We NEED to SEND A MESSAGE that District Attorneys should NOT be allowed to play fast and loose with people’s lives because they have made an uninformed judgement about someone’s behavior.
Gaile Owens is in prison for hiring a man to kill her abusive husband in 1985. She was offered a plea to life in prison — and she accepted that plea — but the D.A. rescinded their offer when her co-defendant refused to accept the plea. Gaile should NOT be punished for the behavior of her co-defendant. The attorneys working on her case believe that no other prisoner on death row in the U.S. has received a death sentence after accepting the offer of a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence.
Below is more information about Ms. Owens’ case. The National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women has been working with Ms. Owens’ attorneys since last summer to block her execution.
Gaile Owens NEEDS more support – and needs it now. At a minimum, please sign the petition AND forward this message to all of your coworkers, colleagues, friends, and family. Time is short. We need to act NOW.
Please ACT NOW to STOP this Horrific Injustice to an Abused Woman Who is Set to BE EXECUTED. Gaile Owens, a 54-year-old woman from Tennessee, whose life was filled with abuse, and whose legal case has been dominated by an appalling series of grave injustices, is scheduled to be executed on September 28.
Please ACT NOW to STOP THIS EXECUTION. Ms. Owens is seeking to have her death sentence commuted to a sentence of life in prison and only Governor Bredesen has the power to do this. The National Clearing House for Battered Women needs your help in urging Governor Bredesen to commute Gaile Owens’ death sentence to life in prison.
What are asking you to:
- Sign the on-line petition in support of clemency for Ms. Owens. As of May 2, the petition had almost 5,000 signatures. We want to double that amount and get over 10,000 signatures. We can only do this with your help.
- We need you to sign the petition now. It will take less than a minute of your time. Go to the Friends of Gaile website and sign the petition at:
http://www.friendsofgaile.com/phpPETITION/index.php - Abused Woman Set To Be Executed. PLEASE send a letter to Governor Bredesen in Tennessee urging them to spare Gaile Owens’ life by commuting her sentence.
- We believe that letters sent via US mail will be the most persuasive. Please take a CIVIC STAND by sending a letter to the Governor and to his legal counsel. The address is:
- The Honorable Phil Bredesen
Governor’s Office
Tennessee State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243-0001
If you can’t send a letter via US mail, please send a message to the Governor via e-mail. Phil.Bredesen@tn.gov .
PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY!
CALL the Governor’s office; write a letter to the editor; submit an editorial, and/or join as a Friend of Gaile Owens on Facebook. For more information about these ideas, see the Friends of Gaile website under the “Learn More” tab by visiting this link below; share this info. http://www.friendsofgaile.com/about.htm