MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

Memphis, do you have questions about the ballot referendums? Don't sweat; MLK50 has a quick breakdown for you. Let's start with the library workers’ charter referendum 📕📘📙

Why library workers want your support: Currently, all library workers in Memphis are considered appointed by the mayor. Being appointed means no procedures or policies for hiring and firing and no formal grievance or appeals process, library workers have said.

Memphis, do you have questions about the ballot referendums? Don't sweat; MLK50 has a quick breakdown for you. Let's start with the library workers’ charter referendum 📕📘📙

🗳 If you vote FOR ... Then regular library workers will be reclassified from appointed employees to civil service employees. Library workers are urging Memphians to vote “for the amendment” on the ballot, making them civil service employees.

Memphis, do you have questions about the ballot referendums? Don't sweat; MLK50 has a quick breakdown for you. Let's start with the library workers’ charter referendum 📕📘📙

Over the next few weeks, this is your chance to get to the polls, avoid the long voting lines and cast your ballot during early voting. Yesterday, early voting kicked off across Tennessee for the 2026 state and federal elections, and it will run through Oct. 29.

🗳️Do you need a ride to the polls? The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Memphis & the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis are offering free rides for voters. 🗳️Most early voting sites open at 11 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. 🗳️When you arrive at the polls, bring a government-issued photo ID.

Over the next few weeks, this is your chance to get to the polls, avoid the long voting lines and cast your ballot during early voting. Yesterday, early voting kicked off across Tennessee for the 2026 state and federal elections, and it will run through Oct. 29.

Our analysis shows that 1 in 3 defendants sentenced to death in Tennessee has been from Memphis — a pattern that researchers say shows how prosecutors use their power. At least 77 people from Shelby County have been sent to death row since the 1970s, but most of those sentences were overturned.

Out of an instinct to build solidarity with Carruthers, Richardson said he started a petition to ask the state to pause the execution and review Carruthers’ case. But that didn’t happen. “The form of power that incarcerated people are most familiar with is the misuse of power,” Richardson said.

Our analysis shows that 1 in 3 defendants sentenced to death in Tennessee has been from Memphis — a pattern that researchers say shows how prosecutors use their power. At least 77 people from Shelby County have been sent to death row since the 1970s, but most of those sentences were overturned.

Most defendants sentenced to death in Shelby County have been resentenced to life or a lesser sentence. This means the courts have repeatedly found flaws in the county’s death penalty cases — from arrest, investigation and trial to quality of defense representation and jury selection.

Our analysis shows that 1 in 3 defendants sentenced to death in Tennessee has been from Memphis — a pattern that researchers say shows how prosecutors use their power. At least 77 people from Shelby County have been sent to death row since the 1970s, but most of those sentences were overturned.

Prosecutors have tremendous power in the criminal justice system. Part of their job is to lead criminal cases through trial, negotiate plea deals with people accused of crimes and recommend prison sentences for people convicted of crimes.

Our analysis shows that 1 in 3 defendants sentenced to death in Tennessee has been from Memphis — a pattern that researchers say shows how prosecutors use their power. At least 77 people from Shelby County have been sent to death row since the 1970s, but most of those sentences were overturned.

Currently, 21 people on death row are from Memphis. All are men who were convicted of first-degree murder.  Tony Carruthers is one of the defendants sentenced to death in Shelby County. Since his conviction in the 1990s, Carruthers has maintained his innocence, and his family stands with him.

August is a celebration of Black giving & Black-led nonprofits, like MLK50. As we lift up Black Philanthropy Month, we are reminded that progress has always been powered by many people working toward a shared purpose. We believe the strength of a movement lives in the voices that carry it forward.