Stories for Life in SONGS – Storytelling Through Lyrics and Music
On the World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, 2026
The theme of the World Day Against the Death Penalty in 2026 and 2027 is “Stories for Life.” The main goal is to raise public awareness that the death penalty affects people and entire communities whose voices should be heard. This is achieved by sharing the stories of people on death row, victims’ families, law enforcement officials, and others affected by the death penalty.
Music—specifically songs—is also an effective and appropriate way to tell stories and give a face to those affected by the death penalty in various ways. Two members of the German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are involved in songwriting and have already created songs about people who have faced or are facing the death penalty. Here we present some of the songs and the people they feature—click on the headline or the corresponding image to listen to the song on YouTube!
“Seek Justice, Practice Mercy!” (Gabi Uhl)
Catholic nun Sister Helen Prejean is one of the best-known opponents of the death penalty in the U.S. Her advocacy began in the 1980s when she began ministering to prisoners on death row in Louisiana. She witnessed executions as a spiritual advisor and later shared her experiences in her book *Dead Man Walking*. The book gained international recognition and served as the basis for a film, a play, and an opera. For decades, Sister Helen has been supporting prisoners and the families of murder victims, giving lectures, and has significantly influenced the Catholic Church’s stance on the death penalty.
Free Anthony Boyd: A Song for Justice! (Kima Perg)
Anthony Boyd spent more than three decades on death row in Alabama. He had been sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1993 murder of Gregory Huguley. His execution was the subject of controversy until the very end; Boyd denied having been directly involved in the killing. On October 23, 2025, Alabama carried out the death sentence using nitrogen hypoxia, a method that had only been in use in the U.S. since 2024. Boyd exhibited signs of movement and labored breathing for more than 15 minutes. His case thus became part of the international debate surrounding this new form of execution.
Reyhaneh (Gabi Uhl)
Reyhaneh Jabbari, an Iranian national, was arrested in 2007 at the age of 19 after fatally injuring a man. She stated that he had attempted to rape her and that she had acted in self-defense. Her trial was marred by significant doubts regarding its fairness; among other things, there were reports of confessions obtained under duress. Reyhaneh Jabbari was sentenced to death and, despite international protests, was hanged on October 25, 2014, at the age of 26. Her case became a global symbol of the fight against the death penalty in Iran. Her story is told in the film “Seven Winters in Tehran” by Steffi Niederzoll and the book “How to Become a Butterfly” by her mother, Shole Pakravan.
Love and Compassion (Gabi Uhl)
Bill Pelke’s grandmother, Ruth, was murdered in 1985 by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper, who was 15 at the time, was sentenced to death for the crime, and at first, Pelke supported this verdict. Later, he fundamentally changed his stance, forgave Cooper, and campaigned to have her death sentence overturned. This led to a decades-long commitment to opposing the death penalty. Pelke became a co-founder and president of Journey of Hope … From Violence to Healing, a movement in which relatives of murder victims advocate for alternatives to the death penalty. He died in 2020 at the age of 73.
Sonny B. (Kima Perg)
Charles “Sonny” Burton was sentenced to death in Alabama for his involvement in a 1991 robbery. It is undisputed that Burton did not shoot Doug Battle, who was killed during the robbery, and that he had already left the store when an accomplice fired the fatal shot. Nevertheless, Burton spent more than three decades on death row. His execution, scheduled for March 12, 2026, sparked a widespread campaign for clemency. Two days earlier, Governor Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence to life in prison without parole—expressly noting that the actual shooter had not been executed.
A Survivor’s Voice (Gabi Uhl)
SueZann Bosler survived an attack in 1986 in which her father, Reverend Billy Bosler, was murdered. She herself was seriously injured by multiple stab wounds and was presumed dead. Nevertheless, she subsequently fought against the execution of the perpetrator, James Bernard Campbell. Her father had been an opponent of the death penalty and had stated that even if he were murdered, he would not want the perpetrator executed. For more than ten years, SueZann campaigned to save Campbell’s life—and was ultimately successful: His death sentence was commuted to life in prison. SueZann Bosler continues to campaign publicly against the death penalty.
Tony Egbuna Ford – A Voice for Innocence (Kima Perg)
Tony Ford has been on death row in Texas for more than three decades. He was sentenced to death in 1993 for a robbery in El Paso during which 18-year-old Armando Murillo was shot and killed. To this day, Ford denies having entered the house or shot at the family; he claims he was waiting outside in the car. His defense points, among other things, to the lack of conclusive physical evidence and significant questions regarding the identifications made by female eyewitnesses, who were not certain they had recognized the right person. In fact, Tony Ford and the possible actual perpetrator, Victor Belton, bear a striking resemblance to one another. Ford continues to fight his conviction and death sentence.
Karla’s Last Dawn (Gabi Uhl)
Karla Faye Tucker was sentenced to death in Texas for a brutal double murder committed in 1983. During her fourteen years on death row, her life changed fundamentally: she became a Christian, took responsibility for her actions, and expressed remorse. Her petition for clemency received international attention and support from a wide variety of social and religious circles, including even some of the victims’ families. On February 3, 1998, Karla Faye Tucker was executed by lethal injection at the age of 38—the first execution of a woman in Texas since 1863.
One Missing Piece (Kima Perg)
Jonathan Carr has been on death row in Kansas for more than two decades. Together with his brother Reginald, he was convicted in 2000 of a series of serious violent crimes; both were sentenced to death. Since then, their case has repeatedly been before the highest courts. The proceedings have focused in particular on constitutional issues regarding sentencing—such as the conditions under which a jury may weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances against one another, and which procedural rights apply in such cases. In 2026, another attempt to secure a new sentencing hearing failed; Carr’s motion to commute the death penalty to life imprisonment was also denied.
Check out the playlists and channels of Gabi Uhl and Kima Perg
Gabi Uhl – Playlist “Abolition NOW! It’s time…”
Gabi Uhl – Channel “GABRIELE beziehungsweise GABI UHL”
Kima Perg – Playlist “Death Penalty”
Kima Perg – Channel “Kima Perg”
The images on this page were created using AI based on real photos.