On Monday, March 19, just 11 days before Philip Workman's scheduled execution date, two UCC Collegium Officers and two Conference Ministers visited this man, whom many believe to be innocent, on Tennessee's death row in Nashville. Two at a time, each pair got to spend more than an hour with Workman. Workman committed a robbery in Memphis on Aug. 5, 1981. In the process of apprehending him, the police bludgeoned Workman with a flashlight. Workman broke free and ran.
Shots rang out.
A police officer was slain. Workman does not remember firing at an officer. Another irregularity is that two medical examiners report that the fatal wound to the officer is inconsistent with one Workman's weapon would have made. That Court rendered a split 7-7 decision that effectively denied Workman an evidentiary hearing. Workman's future now lies in the hands of Tennessee's Governor Don Sundquist.