Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (TADP) seeks to honor life by abolishing the death penalty in Tennessee. TADP works to fulfill this mission by educating Tennesseans on the problems that plague Tennessee's death penalty system and organizing citizens to advocate for repeal.

TADP was formed in 1992, but belongs to a long line of Tennessee death penalty organizations dating back more than 30 years. TADP have three chapters across the state in Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville with an active group of supporters in other parts of the state such as Chattanooga, Sewanee, Cookeville, and Johnson City.

TADP's Sharing Our Stories (S.O.S.) speakers bureau makes presentations to groups across the state. Participants in the S.O.S. program are surviving family members of murder victims as well as Tennessee's two death row exonerees who share their painful stories, their journeys toward forgiveness, and opposition to the death penalty. TADP also holds an annual student conference on the death penalty at Middle Tennessee State University drawing nearly 200 high school and college students from across the state. This conference hosts national speakers and provides a variety of workshops to educate citizens about this public policy.

TADP holds its annual Write-a-thon and Justice Day on the Hill to empower citizens to communicate their concerns about the death penalty to policy makers and actively opposes scheduled executions through support of clemency campaigns, phone banking, and vigils.