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have a tendency to shy away from dealing with crime and with people in our society who don't fit in." He believed that
Christians especially had a duty to keep people out of prison. In the decades since, the rates of incarceration increased dramatically nationwide, especially for minorities, both
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Wray advocated abolition of the death penalty and reform of excessively punitive sentencing and prison conditions. He participated in the
Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing and the Restorative Justice Coalition of Tennessee. He worked with the
90:. He advocated that Christians had a moral obligation to try to keep people out of prison, and persisted with his efforts of reform during decades of rising rates of incarceration in the United States, especially of minorities.
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86:(November 10, 1946 - July 24, 2007) was an American activist and author, based in Tennessee, who supported human rights for the poor, abolition of the death penalty, and
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Wray died of a stroke on July 24, 2007, in
Nashville, Tennessee. His funeral was held at the Belmont United Methodist Church.
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In another means of reaching people, he co-authored two published books on prison reform. According to his obituary in
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at the
Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville in the 1970s. In 1978, he argued that, "Too often, people in the
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as
Coordinator for Ministries with the Poor and Marginalized. His role was to raise awareness about poverty in
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because of implementation of the war on drugs and more severe sentencing guidelines.
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213:. New York: General Board of Global Ministries, the United Methodist Church.
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Wray was born on
November 10, 1946. He grew up in a working-class family in
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but never completed his PhD. By 1998, he had been enrolled for 16 years.
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Beyond
Prisons: A New Interfaith Paradigm for our Failed Prison System
418:"Divinity School Host. Prison Ministry Unit Sets VU Meetings"
313:"Community loses prison minister who simply lived his faith"
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515:"Harmon Wray honored peace by uniting people"
211:Restorative Justice: Moving Beyond Punishment
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392:"Prisoner Advocate Harmon Wray Dies at 60"
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236:Magnani, Laura; Wray, Harmon L. (2006).
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209:Wray, Harmon; Hutchison, Peggy (2002).
159:Riverbend Maximum Security Institution
587:American anti–death penalty activists
119:Vanderbilt University Divinity School
68:Vanderbilt University Divinity School
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240:. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress.
567:Activists from Nashville, Tennessee
453:Lewis, Dwight (December 12, 1978).
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562:Activists from Memphis, Tennessee
512:McCullah, Jodi (August 5, 2007).
456:"More 'Criminal Concern' Urged"
425:. November 12, 1978. p. 22
390:Egerton, John (July 24, 2007).
355:"Lending his voice to the poor"
280:. Nashville Scene. 24 July 2007
141:In 1995, Wray was hired by the
115:Duke University Divinity School
64:Duke University Divinity School
486:Barry, Bruce (July 24, 2007).
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310:Waddle, Ray (July 28, 2007).
582:Vanderbilt University alumni
352:Waddle, Ray (June 1, 1998).
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592:American prison reformers
200:(3): 3–6. Archived from
155:Southern Prison Ministry
143:United Methodist Church
129:Wray taught classes on
104:United Methodist Church
44:July 24, 2007 (aged 60)
577:Duke University alumni
572:Rhodes College alumni
188:Wray, Harmon (1989).
109:Wray graduated from
48:Nashville, Tennessee
84:Harmon Lee Wray Jr.
20:Harmon L. Wray, Jr.
100:Memphis, Tennessee
33:Memphis, Tennessee
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546:Categories
264:References
135:free world
94:Early life
284:25 August
256:805054899
56:Education
488:"Harmon"
278:"Harmon"
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50:, U.S.
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174:Death
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252:OCLC
242:ISBN
225:OCLC
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41:Died
26:Born
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