Bill Lee: “We must address the issue of poverty and funding programs that help put people back on their feet.”

The people of Tennessee have determined that the death penalty is the appropriate penalty for the most heinous crimes in the state.

I have ordered a pause on all executions for the remainder of the year.

So far as we know, the Department of Correction followed exactly the protocol that was outlined and vetted and approved by the attorney general’s office.

I hope that Tennessee governor Bill Lee’s decision to postpone the last execution scheduled for this year will give lawmakers time to consider the subject seriously.