On the day before Thanksgiving we thought it appropriate to thank all those who stood with us during Kenny Smith’s horrific botched execution attempt. We will keep you informed of action on this issue because although the State did not succeed in executing Kenny the traumatic fallout for Kenny and for those who love him remains.

We thank all of you who wrote, faxed, tweeted and called the Governor to let her know that Alabama does not kill in our name. We thank everyone who organized and attended vigils around the state and who joined with us from abroad. We thank Death Penalty Action for how they stood with us, collecting 1,537 signatures and organizing the virtual vigil at which we were represented by our Spiritual Advisor, the Rev. Tom Duley. A very special thanks to the Rev, Lynn Hopkins who delivered the petitions to the Governor’s office. We also thank the Alabama organizations who sent out information. As always, we especially thank our sister organization JAM in Birmingham.

As usual we are having our Thanksgiving celebration during our Board meeting, which is why these notes are early, but we are also working on our Christmas edition of Wings of Hope.

In closing and as always, we continue to thank all our generous donors who either gave by going to our website and using the “donate” button or who gave directly. Thank you also to all who took the time to read our notes, commented, liked and shared them on Facebook. You encourage us and make all the difference. Stay safe and enjoy Thanksgiving!

Esther