ABA midyear meeting. Widening the Spectrum

• Author: Amanda Robert
• Pages: 64-70

ABA Insider | ABA MIDYEAR MEETING

Henry and the Innocence Project told

the court that an unidentied male’s

DNA had been found on the murder

weapon after testing evidence from the

crime scene. It did not match Payne.

“This result

as well as nu-

merous other

inconsistencies

in the state’s case

raise too much

doubt to permit

an execution,” Henry says. “The risk

of executing an innocent man is simply

too great.”

The f‌ight continues

When Henry thinks about previous

clients, she’s most proud of achieving

a sentencing commutation for Gaile

Owens. The Tennessee woman had been

sentenced to death for hiring a hit man

to kill her husband, Ronald, in 1984,

but she claimed that years of emotional,

physical and sexual abuse had prompt-

ed his murder.

Owens was released from the Ten-

nessee Prison for Women in 2011 after

then-Gov. Phil Bredesen commuted her

sentence to life in prison and made her

eligible for parole.

When Owens died at age 67 in

November 2019, Henry told the Ten-

nessean that it was “my great honor to

be Gaile’s lawyer” and “my profound

privilege to call her my friend.”

After watching former President

Donald Trump’s administration oversee

13 federal executions since July, Henry

hopes to see President Joe Biden sign

the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition

Act into law. She also hopes that when

Congress considers criminal justice re-

form, it will review portions of the Anti-

terrorism and Effective Death Penalty

Act that limit habeas review.

When considering her years of work

with death row inmates, Henry still

feels honored that they have entrusted

her to share their stories with the world.

“They have been demeaned and de-

graded their entire lives, and to be their

voice is incredibly humbling,” she says.

“It’s really a privilege.”

“There are a lot of things I can’t do

very well. I can’t play the piano. I can’t

bake a cake. But I can do this.” Q

Death row inmate

Pervis Payne’s

legal team

believes he is

innocent.

ABA MIDYEAR MEETING

Widening

the

Spectrum

Spirit of Excellence honorees

strive for diversity and inclusion

BY AMANDA ROBERT

At the 2021 ABA Midyear

Meeting, the ABA Commis-

sion on Racial and Ethnic

Diversity in the Profession

celebrated ve lawyers who strive to

achieve a more diverse legal profession.

The Spirit of Excellence Awards are

presented annually to lawyers who

excel professionally; personify excel-

lence at the national and international

Photos by Tennessee Department of Correction via AP; Shutterstock

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ABA JOURNAL | APRIL–MAY 2021

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