NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A statewide coalition working to eliminate the use of capital punishment is helping establish a conservative group also against the death penalty.
Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is working with Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a national network of political and social conservatives questioning the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
TADP plans to launch a Tennessee chapter of the organization.
Organizers say the main focus of Tennessee Conservatives Concerned will be to re-evaluate the current capital punishment system, which they say is marked by inefficiency, inequity and inaccuracy.
There are currently 69 people on Tennessee's death row. If the state had no death row, coalition members say it would save about $1 million in prison costs alone.