NEW VOICES: Tennessee Business Leader Underscores Problems with the Death Penalty

“Speaking as a business leader, a proud, lifetime Tennessean and a human being, it's time for the state to abolish capital punishment,” wrote Mac Bartine, CEO of Knoxville-based tech company Smartria, in an op-ed for Knox News. Bartine described the findings of the 2022 independent investigation into Tennessee’s execution practices, which found that the state repeatedly failed to adhere to its own protocol. “The report proved what we have known for years – that the death penalty has no place in our society,” he wrote.

Beyond the issues identified in the report issued on December 28, 2022, Bartine highlighted the exorbitant cost of capital punishment, racial discrimination in its application, and the potential pitfalls to attracting business to the state. Speaking from his perspective as a businessman, Bartine raised concerns that “the death penalty decreases the benefits of our thoughtfully-created business-friendly climate, as companies have strongly voiced their feelings about investing in states with the death penalty. More than 250 prominent corporate leaders, led by Virgin Founder Richard Branson, have come together to call for an end to capital punishment everywhere.” Some signatories include Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever; Jared Smith, co-founder of Qualtrics; and Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. “Persisting in such an unpopular and ineffective practice gives pause to corporate leaders who would otherwise be strongly interested in bringing desirable opportunities to our state,” added Bartine.

Evidence of Racial Bias in Texas Case Approaching Execution

John Balentine (pictured) is a Texas death-row prisoner who was sentenced to death in 1999 for a triple murder. He had been scheduled for execution on February 8, 2023, but a temporary reprieve has been granted. His appellate attorneys have presented numerous instances of racial bias that may have affected the proceedings in his case.

During Balentine’s trial, his attorneys passed handwritten notes among themselves essentially predicting a “LYNCHING” and rhetorically asking whether this might be a “justifiable LYNCHING.” Balantine’s appellate attorneys have argued that such overt use of race-laden terminology, especially in a case with a Black defendant and three white murder victiims, exemplified racial animus that permeated throughout the case.

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