I'd next want to introduce Rachel Sudfin. Rachel is a third year divinity student at I'm sorry,
I can't find the name of the school with me, but in Atlanta. But I first learned about Rachel
reading about her in a newspaper story. Her father, Sheriff's Corporal Eric Sudfin, was killed in
Blacksburg in 2006 during a man hunt when Rachel was only nine years old. In July of 2017,
her father's killer, Wil Morva, was scheduled to die in Virginia's execution chamber. Rachel
had written to then governor McCollough, urging him to spare the life of Mr. Morva. Given a
serious mental illness, Rachel didn't believe that he deserved death. Instead, she urged the governor
to reduce his sentence life in prison. When she did not receive a response, she took her appeal
public. Unfortunately, the governor went on to sign the execution warrant and Mr. Morva died
from an injection of lethal drugs that were shrouded in secrecy and obtained a great public
expense. And it's our fervent hope that that execution in July of 2017 will be the last that
ever takes place here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Now in 2017, Rachel was an undergraduate
student at Virginia Tech. A few months after the execution, I had a meeting in the Roanoke area
in a range to meet Rachel to coffee house in Blacksburg. I was immediately struck by her
intelligence and her strong desire to end capital punishment that was rooted in her personal faith
commitment. Since that meeting, Rachel has become one of our most spoken allies from the community
of murder victim family members in Virginia. She has written two op-eds that were published in
the Bristol Herald Courier and the Washington Post. In November of 2019, Rachel flew to Virginia
from school in Atlanta to speak at a press conference where we released a letter in support of
deputy abolition that was signed by 15 murder victim family members. Rachel was quoted widely
in media stories throughout Virginia and across the country. In January 2020, Rachel again interrupted
her graduate school studies to fly to Richmond and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee
in favor of death penalty abolition. Senator Bill Stanley, who will be introducing shortly,
was one of the people at that hearing. Her voice has incredible moral authority
and her voice has been heard. After having suffered such a terrible personal loss,
for all of this dedicated volunteer work, I'm very pleased to present Rachel with the 2020
Betty Gallagher Citizen Advocate of the Year Award. Rachel.
Thank you, Michael. For the record, I attend Columbia Theological Seminary, which is a
press conference in Atlanta, which brings me great joy to be seated at the Betty Gallagher,
what is she to as press materian. I'm very honored to be seated at this award as well as to
have been here as Senator Kane, who is very kind to my family when my father was killed and helped
us through the process. As Michael said, my father died in 2006, and the trial for William Warba,
the man who killed him, then lasted 11 years. After I turned 18, I began to write letters to state
legislators and the then governor, Terry McCallough. I wrote asking for clemency from Warba,
and I never spoke publicly until the summer of 2017, when William Warba's lawyer, Don David Sen,
showed up unexpectedly at my house. She and I then stayed in regular contact as Moira's execution
date grew closer. Despite her advocacy, Moira was executed in July 2017. A few weeks after the execution,
I contacted Virginians, alternatives to the death penalty. Although Moira had been killed,
I did not feel that the fight was over yet. I wanted to fight for the other four men that were on
death row at that time. I have lost count of all the interviews I have done, both in the secular
world as well as in my press material role. I have written many op-eds, participated in a
documentary with the Tennessee Alliance for Civilian Mental Health Exclusion, and I spoke at a
panel discussion at the Burtry Theatre after they put on a play about the death penalty in the 1500s.
I participate in the work of BADP and advocate for the abolishment of the death penalty
to honor my father and his work of protecting life. I believe that all life is sacred, no matter
if you on death row or not. I share my story with hope that one day the cruelty and ineffectiveness
of state sanctioned murder will be realized. And I hope for a day when all sentences are
communicated to life and execution chambers are torn down. When families are murdered victim
members, I take better taken care of and when a time when all life will be cherished.
Thank you for this award and for being access to the Kittaday.
