On November 17, 2022, Kenneth Smith survived a botched lethal injection execution. Presently, Smith is scheduled to be executed by the unprecedented method of nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood serves as Smith’s spiritual advisor and filed this suit to seek to protect Smith’s religious liberty. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA Jeff Hood, § § Plaintiff, § Civil Case No. § vs. § CONNECTED TO A... Read more
Jeremiah Reeves, Martin Luther King, Jr. & Kenneth Smith: On Alabama’s Death Penalty Death is different. I’ve heard various manifestations of the phrasing…but the message remains the same…when talking about a life one should always exercise extreme caution. The State of Alabama has a long history of doing the opposite. It’s almost as if the motto of Alabama is kill first and ask questions…if at all…later. From the tyranny of lynching (at least 300 from 1877 to 1943)... Read more
On November 17, 2022, Kenneth Smith survived a botched lethal injection execution. I serve as Kenny’s spiritual advisor and seek to help guide him to a place of healing. Soul injuries occur when one engages evil so severely that it causes them to be detached from their very soul. For millennia, a variety of religious traditions have understood the trichotomy of body, consciousness and soul. The fundamental idea is that there is something that exists... Read more
The Near-Death Experience of a Death Row Inmate: Michael Bane All things considered…Tennessee’s Death Row is a relatively calm place. Well, it was until it wasn’t on September 5, 1994. After a congenial game of cards, a deranged and unstable prisoner by the name of Henry Hodges crept up beside and behind fellow prisoner Michael Bane and slit his throat. Immediately, Hodges howled in laughter, “I just killed you!” Bane fell to the floor. Other inmates cried... Read more
On the Resurrection of Casey McWhorter Our criminal justice system doesn’t exist for rehabilitation…it doesn’t even exist for punishment…it exists for one purpose…erasure. When someone goes to prison, the idea is for everyone on the outside to forget that they ever had any relationship at all with the condemned…that they ever even existed. For the most part, the system is very successful. Most people in Alabama couldn’t name anybody on death row. Much less, the next person... Read more
“End” : Systematic Theology from Death Row : (Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood) Why do we allow our minds to stop? We too often assume that the end is the end. Many assume that death is the end because we dare not imagine any other way. We dare not because we think we are so much more enlightened than everyone else. Heaven and angels sound foolish amid the stark reality of a dead body. Maybe what we’re talking... Read more
“Strength” : Systematic Theology from Death Row : (Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood) We lose our ability to cope with the world around us when we choose to believe that death has power over us. Strength comes from daring to believe that any end is not an end…but rather a beginning. Death has no power if we dare believe that it doesn’t exist. People can say all day that they are going to kill us…but if one cannot... Read more
Michael Bane: Death Row Feminist Truth. What is it? How does it work? When does it happen? Truth can be so difficult to grasp. Often, we walk through life so skeptical. I know I do. Sometimes it’s necessary. Think about how many times people have lied to you. Then again, think about how many times people have told you the truth. I guess there is something that happens at the juxtaposition of truth and lies…life. So, who... Read more
“Ready” : Systematic Theology from Death Row : Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood Is it possible that all of life is a preparation for death? Think about it. We are born to die. Even when you look at the smallest baby…you know that death is inevitable. Yet, the baby still represents something so much more than death. The newborn is a revelation…the revelation that life will continue. It’s almost as if one can see eternity in the baby’s eyes. ... Read more
“Simple” : Systematic Theology from Death Row : Casey McWhorter & Jeff Hood) God is simple. We try so hard to make God complicated…but God is Simple…Simply present. God is always about presence. We are never alone. There is always the presence. It is Simple. What makes God’s presence so Simple? It’s the kind word from the most unlikely of spaces. It’s the beautiful birds outside the window. It’s the unexpected joy of a sunset. It’s the... Read more
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