Please Pray for Cecil Johnson

The State of Tennessee is going to kill Cecil Johnson in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Cecil has been on death row for 29 years, which he has claimed amounts to psychological torture. U.S. District Judge Robert Echols has denied his last appeal, and so it seems that his death is all but certain. Some friends at RMSI who know Cecil say that the man that will be murdered by lethal injection in a little over 24 hours "is not the same man that committed the crime 29 years ago." The whole situation is unbelievably sad.

Please keep Cecil in your prayers. Also please remember the victims of the crime committed in 1980. And also pray for all the people of Tennessee, upon whose hands will be Cecil Johnson's blood. May God forgive and have mercy on all of us.

Surely this is not justice; surely this is not reconciliation!

A prayer for those in prisons:

Lord Jesus, for our sake you were condemned as a criminal: Visit our jails and prisons with your pity and judgment. Remember all prisoners, and bring the guilty to repentance and amendment of life according to your will, and give them hope for their future. When any are held unjustly, bring them release; forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice. Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming brutal or callous. And since what we do for those in prison, O Lord, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot. All this we ask for your mercy's sake. Amen. (BCP, 826).

Verses for meditation:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt 25:31-46, ESV).

There are several planned vigils (this is the information from a TCASK email):

Statewide Vigils Planned for Tuesday, December 1st, on the Eve of Cecil Johnson's Execution

Vigils will be held statewide to remember victims of violence and to resist the use of the death penalty on Tuesday, December 1st. In Nashville, a service will be held at 7 p.m. at Hobson United Methodist Church located at 1107 Chapel Rd. 37206. Following the service at 11 p.m. a candlelight vigil will be held at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

In Memphis, a vigil will be held at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception at 7 p.m. The address is 1695 Central Avenue, zipcode 38104.

In Knoxville, a vigil will be held at Church of Our Savior at 6:30 p.m. The address is 934 N. Weisgarber Road, zipcode 37909.