THIS JUST IN….
Within hours of his scheduled execution, Willie Jerome Manning’s death was stopped. The Mississippi Supreme Court (the same court that denied DNA evidence in a split 5-4 vote a week ago) voted 8-1 yesterday to delay the execution indefinitely.
Dozens of you called the Governor’s office when we posted the number here. There was an incredible buzz yesterday with prayer-warriors praying, bloggers blogging, and lawyers litigating… and death got interrupted! Literally as he was in a holding cell with preparations to kill him underway, and witnesses already in route to the execution, the life of Willie Jerome Manning was spared. Certainly the struggle is not over, but it is important to pause and celebrate the little victories, the moments where we catch glimpses of hope that the world can change, even for a moment… and that every life matters. One of the corrections officers said that Manning never lost hope in God and in the seemingly impossible cancellation of the execution… Willie declared even up to the moment of his death the goodness of God, insisting that he had not lost faith and that everything was in God’s good hands. So today we thank God for one more death interrupted.
And maybe it’s worth giving the Governor (or the Justices) a follow up call ; )
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Shane Claiborne is a prominent author, speaker, activist, and founding member of the Simple Way. He is one of the compilers of Common Prayer, a new resource to unite people in prayer and action. Shane is also helping develop a network called Friends Without Borders which creates opportunities for folks to come together and work together for justice from around the world. His most recent book is Red Letter Revolution, which he co-authored with Tony Campolo.
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