This past Monday, the state of Georgia was scheduled to execute its first female  inmate since 1945, Kelly Gissendaner. Kelly has been in jail since 1998, when she was convicted of co-conspiring with her boyfriend to kill her husband. The events that took place were brutal. Kelly has since "accepted responsibility for her actions" and has expressed "deep remorse about the pain she has caused."

Since her imprisonment, Kelly has found mercy and forgiveness through spiritual study and practice. In 2010, she enrolled in a theology studies program for prisoners, established by a group of Atlanta area seminaries. This program has introduced Kelly to some of the world's most prominent theologians and has helped rehabilitate her in ways unimaginable. In her recently denied clemency appeal, a prison warden even described her "calming effect on women who were suicidal or had mental illness."

Throughout the country this past Sunday, many preachers took to the pulpit in support of Kelly's life and in opposition to the death penalty. At St. Bartholomew's Church in midtown Manhattan, Union Seminary President Rev Dr. Serene Jones brought to light Kelly's story and discussed the stain the death penalty leaves on our faith and our country.  You can listen to her sermon here.

In the hours that followed, thousands and thousands of tweets, stories, and petitions swept the country.  On Monday, Georgia faith leaders delivered over 50,000 petitions to stop Kelly's impending execution. Miraculously, whether through science, human will, or divine intervention, the execution was delayed.  For now, the power of love, mercy, and reconciliation have won.  But the fight isn't over.

Here's what you can do to help.  

• Spread Kelly's story.  On Twitter, use #KellyOnMyMind
• Sign the petition to spare Kelly's life.  
• Discuss the death penalty issue with friends and family.  
• Join Episcopal Peace Fellowship's Death Penalty Abolition Group

Finally, let us remember that all lives on death row matter. Kelly's story may have caught our attention, but there are many still on death row that need to be fought for.  The inherent value of these inmates as children of God are worth more than any crime they have committed. Let us stand up and yell for our black and Latino brothers and sisters just as strongly as we have for Kelly. 

SOURCES: NYTimes, Inquisitr. , NYC/ABC7