Kim Jackson serves as Senator for Georgia State Senate District 41, representing portions of Dekalb and Gwinnett counties. Kim works every day to build a safer, fairer, and more prosperous Georgia, and bring the diverse voices of her district to the Capitol: immigrants, refugees, and people living on the margins.
In her first few terms in office, Kim has defended our voting rights against relentless attacks; authored life-saving legislation for survivors of stalking, domestic violence, and human trafficking; secured unprecedented funds for Black farmers, local preK programs, and those recovering from traumatic brain injuries; serves as co-chair of the Mental Health Caucus; and earned appointment to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence.
An Episcopal priest from the rural South, Kim made Georgia home over a decade ago. After graduating from Furman University, Kim volunteered as an EMT and led her colleagues at Emory's Candler School of Theology to advocate for Criminal Justice Reform in Georgia. Upon receiving her Master of Divinity, Kim commenced her vocation as an Episcopal priest. Over the past 10 years of ministry, she has served as a college chaplain, a nationally renowned consultant and preacher, and a parish priest. As the Vicar of the Church of the Common Ground, Kim co-creates Church with people who are experiencing homelessness in downtown Atlanta.
Kim and her family live in Stone Mountain. She and her wife are stewards of a small hobby farm in Georgia that hosts goats, ducks, honeybees, rabbits, and chickens.
Carole Butcher joined LifeLines UK in 1992 after seeing a documentary on the BBC in the late 1980’s which followed the last 14 days in the life of Edward Earl Johnson who was put to death in a gas chamber in Parchman Prison, Mississippi.
Carole shares the following:
"The documentary is called '14 Days in May' and I was truly shocked by what I saw! In 1992, another documentary was aired by the BBC which followed the friendship between a lady and a young man whose family had abandoned him and who was put to death after a short friendship of just a few months; it was heartbreaking! The lady was a member of the newly-formed writing group ‘LifeLines’ and over 6,000 people, including myself, applied to join having watched the documentary. My first two pen friends were incarcerated in Oklahoma (William 8 years of correspondence and Norman 4 years of correspondence); both were put to death by lethal injection by the authorities in Oklahoma; it was a truly traumatic time in my life!
In the year 2000, I was asked if I would become the Coordinator for Georgia and I readily agreed. I looked after the interests of the prisoners and the writers for 5 years before becoming the Membership Secretary of LifeLines in 2005 - 2010.
I took over the role of Coordinator for Georgia again in 2016 after I had lost my pen friend in Georgia, Brandon, to execution in February of that year. It was another traumatic time, probably the worst of all as I had been writing to Brandon for over 15 years. I am now writing to my current pen friend in Georgia, Alfonso, who is serving life. I have also been looking after the interests of the prisoners and writers in Georgia for the last eight years - a total of 13 years in all, including the first 5 years.
Every aspect of my time, firstly as a member of LifeLines and subsequently as a Coordinator, Membership Secretary, Trustee and Committee member since 2000, has been an honour. It has changed my life for the better and I have met some incredible people both in the US and here in the UK over the years; speakers at our conferences, exonerated prisoners, lawyers, chaplains, supporters and workers, as a result."
Rachel Gross and her husband Bob founded the Death Row Support Project in 1978, with the support of the Church of the Brethren. In what became a life-long vocation, Rachel matched over 10,000 people with thousands of people on death row – over 15,000 relationships established. This would not have been possible without the help of family and friends and others in the abolition community. Needless to say, the writers themselves – those on death row and those writing to them – are the soul of the project.
For the past 40 years, Rachel and Bob live near North Manchester, Indiana, where they share seven acres with two other families, 60 chickens, 3 cats, 2 beehives and 1 dog.
The GFADP Board of Directors is thrilled to announce our awardees for the 15th Annual GFADP Mary Ruth Weir Awards Celebration: Sen Rev Kim Jackson, Carole Butcher and Rachel Gross.
In their own beautiful and unique ways, these champions of social justice have devoted their lives to standing up to oppression in the nonviolent pursuit of a society that does not practice capital punishment.
The 2024 Mary Ruth Weir Human Rights Award: SENATOR REVEREND KIM JACKSON
The 2024 Martina Correia Courage Award: CAROLE BUTCHER AND RACHEL GROSS
Congratulations to our wonderful Award recipients for 2024!
Join us on Sat, September 14th from 12-2:30pm to celebrate with them!
Tickets available now for our 15th Annual GFADP Mary Ruth Weir Celebration and Awards Event: Chimes of Freedom! Sat, Sept 14th, 12-2:30pm at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/8w_sUep0OIqU0gXpUax0iA
Tickets available now!
15th Annual GFADP Mary Ruth Weir Celebration and Awards Event: Chimes of Freedom!
Sat, Sept 14th, 12-2:30pm at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA
Effective Advocacy: How to Advocate for an End to the Death Penalty
All are welcome to join North Georgia United Methodists for an Advocacy training event on Sunday, May 19, from 2 to 3:30 pm at Embry Hills UMC in Atlanta.
Join Bishop Robin Dease, subject matter experts, legislators, and Cathy Harmon-Christian (ED, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty) as we learn how people of faith can make a positive difference in our state and community through legislative advocacy.
There is no cost to attend, but please register so that we can prepare to welcome you.
REGISTER HERE!
Pulling Back the Curtain
GFADP and Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty are proud to present Pulling Back the Curtain, a webinar series on the death penalty. Throughout this series, we will examine the facts and myths of the death penalty in light of the curtain of secrecy the state draws around this process.
Our first discussion will be on The Medicalization of Executions. With execution methods like lethal injection, and more recently the introduction of nitrogen gas, we run the risk of seeing executions as medical procedures. Dr. Joel Zivot, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Emory University School of Medicine will debunk this dangerous assumption, laying bare the violence these “humane” forms of execution do to the human body.
Join us on Tuesday, May 21, at 12:00 p.m. via Zoom for Pulling Back the Curtain: The Medicalization of Executions with Dr. Joel Zivot.
REGISTER HERE:
Sat, June 8, 2024
10:30am-2:30pm
What:
Join us for a Legislative Advocacy Workshop
Who:
Professional Lobbyist Jeff Willard will be instructing , with sponsorship by GFADP, Tzedek Georgia, and the Atlanta Friends Meeting
Why:
Learn what you can do to effectively help advocate for change in government policies!
Where:
the Atlanta Friends Meeting House
701 West Howard Ave, Decatur, GA 30030
RSVP HERE!
