Stephen Bright—for decades the brave heart of Atlanta's Southern Center for Human Rights—believes the death penalty is morally wrong, “a primitive, barbaric punishment” that he said degrades and coarsens society.

He has dedicated much of his legal career to stepping between death row inmates and their final walk to execution. When all else fails, he bears witness to their deaths, letting them know they are not alone as they die and comforting their families afterward.

It is difficult and unpopular work advocating for society's condemned, attempting to save their lives when they have taken others'.