Rev. Kevin Burns (KB)

Growing up in a large family meant there was always something to do and always someone to play with. But sometimes I wanted to be left alone. During those times, I went to my bedroom and lay on the bed and thought about life. I thought about decisions people make, why people do what they do, and why bad things happen to good people. You know, things that a lot of people think about.

Rev. Dr. Kevin Riggs (KR)

It all started with an article in my local newspaper. The article stated that over the next thirteen months Tennessee would carry out ten executions! It had been more than a decade since an execution. Now, in a relatively short time, Tennessee would murder 13 percent of the total population of men and women on death row. Not long after I read the article, I heard the Spirit say, "Go to death row." At the time I did not know where death row was in Tennessee. Knowing I heard God speak, I did some research, made some phone calls, and by the end of that summer, made my first visit to Unit Two at

Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the home of Tennessee's death row. That was over ten years ago. While ten executions over thirteen months never happened, during the past five years, there have been seven executions. I've said goodbye to seven friends, all of which were image bearers of the Divine.