To the Honorable Governor Tom Corbett and Members of the Board of
Pardons:
We, the members of Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, write to
support the petition of clemency for Terry Williams.
Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights (MVFHR) is
a victim-founded, victim-led national
organization of people who have lost family members to murder or execution and
oppose the death penalty. We have members in Pennsylvania and throughout
the United States.
As murder victims' family members, we stand in solidarity with
Mamie Norwood, whose husband Amos Norwood was murdered by Terry Williams in
1984. Ms. Norwood has stated unequivocally that she does not want Mr.
Williams to be executed and that she supports his petition
for clemency. We know from our own experiences, and from her
statement, that Ms. Norwood's position comes despite her tremendous pain, and
is part of a journey that only other murder victims' family members can
understand. We support her in her courageous stand against the execution
of Terry Williams, and ask that you honor her request that his sentence be
commuted to life in prison.
The members of our organization know the pain of losing a beloved family
member to murder. Having all
suffered a tragic loss, we have come in different ways and times to the
understanding that the death penalty does not help us heal, and is not what we
need to feel that justice has been served. A sentence of life in prison
fulfills the purpose of holding murderers accountable for their terrible
crimes, and keeps society safe. We have come to understand that an
execution does not bring our family member back, but does create another
grieving family. We stand as well with the family of Terry Williams who
will suffer tremendously if he is put to death.
We ask that you hear the request for mercy from Ms. Mamie Norwood in her
opposition to the execution of Terry Williams, and we ask that you recognize
that, in the face of her stand against it, to continue with his
execution has the potential to cause Ms. Norwood additional pain.
As victims, and in support of the victim in this case, we support
clemency for Terry Williams.
Thank you.
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