Mental illness & capital punishment to be discussed Tuesday

Posted at 7:27 pm February 4, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Sarah Graham McGee

Mental illness and capital punishment will be discussed during a lunch in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The speaker will be Sarah Graham McGee, statewide coordinator for the Tennessee Alliance for the Severe Mental Illness Exclusion, or TASMIE, a press release said. TASMIE is a coalition of mental health advocates and other organizations that are educating Tennesseans about their concerns with sentencing those who have severe mental illness to death, the press release said.

The program is for Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 5. The meeting is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

McGee received her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and her J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee, the press release said. In 2014, she completed the E. Barrett Fellowship at Georgetown University Law Center, where she earned her L.L.M. degree with Distinction. McGee has worked as a victim-witness coordinator for the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, and she served as an assistant public defender for the Nashville Defenders. She recently completed an article on the nationwide movement to exclude people with severe mental illness from the death penalty, the press release said.

Lunch with the League is a public service program open to the community. Membership in the League of Women Voters is not required, and there is no cost to attend, the press release said.

The presentation will begin at noon Tuesday. Lunches are provided by the Soup Kitchen, and they are available at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come basis for $8, or you may bring your own. Coffee and tea are provided.

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, a nonpartisan political organization for men and women, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy, the press release said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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