A Franklin-based company has terminated a controversial contract with the state of Alabama after public outcry.
FDR Safety, a safety consulting firm, was tasked with devising safety methods for correctional facility employees involved in administering the death penalty in Alabama detention facilities. The state has proposed a new protocol to execute prisoners on death row via nitrogen hypoxia, a method that would asphyxiate the condemned through a gas chamber or gas mask.
The company terminated its contract after community members, including Kevin Riggs, the pastor at Franklin Community Church, protested at the company's headquarters on Feb. 14. Riggs and 17 other church and community leaders presented FDR Safety CEO Fred Rine a letter urging him to terminate the contract "for the sake of humanity."
"You may think this contract is just business, but we ask you to consider what you stand for and want your legacy to be," the letter read. "If FDR Safety continues to support the development of this new nitrogen gas execution protocol, it will be remembered in history for gassing people alive — some who are innocent, others mentally ill and others striving for redemption."
FDR Safety develops workplace safety protocols for public and private workplaces. Chief Operations Officer Steve Hawkins said the company would have provided safety consulting to ensure that correctional staff were not harmed during executions.
"The work that FDR Safety performed was limited to protecting the health and safety of the guards who work for the Alabama Department of Corrections," Hawkins said. "It was in no way associated directly with the protocols used to administer capital punishment.
"It's our belief that all employees' safety and health deserves to be protected if it's legal work," Hawkins said.
Riggs said he is troubled that the death penalty still exists but wants to celebrate FDR Safety's decision to terminate their contract.
"It's a small victory, but I want to celebrate the small victory at least for a day," Riggs said. "The battle still goes on."
Source: tennessean.com, Cole Villena, February 25, 2022
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