Professor David Gushee, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, called for a national halt to executions because the death penalty as a public policy "fails the most basic standards of justice." Prof. Gushee, writing for the Associated Baptist Press, stated that the recent moratorium in Tennessee surrounding lethal injection problems should be extended to review the entire application of the death penalty, and that other states should take similar action.
Prof. Gushee wrote:
In a move that received very little attention, Gov. Phil Bredesen recently suspended all executions in Tennessee until May, pending a full review of what he called our “sloppy” execution procedures. The governor is to be commended for this brave and wise decision.
