Celebrating the life of Jewish Death Row Survivor Sunny Jacobs, Z’L

L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty mourns the recent tragic passing of Jewish Florida death row survivor, abolitionist, and activist, and long-time L’chaim member Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs, Z’L, of blessed memory. Many international news outlets, death penalty-related organizations, and individuals have written extensively about Sunny’s prodigious legacy. L’chaim now adds to these tributes by reflecting for a moment on her Jewish identity, which played an essential role in her life.

Sonia ​“Sunny” Jacobs, 78, was a for­mer death row pris­on­er whose sto­ry of wrong­ful con­vic­tion was fea­tured in the off-Broadway play ​“The Exonerated.” She became a vociferous advo­cate for for­mer­ly incar­cer­at­ed pris­on­ers. Tragically, she died in a house fire, along with her care­giv­er, in County Galway, Ireland, on June 2, 2025.

Sunny had been convicted, along with her common-law husband, Jesse Tafero, and his friend, Walter Rhodes, of murdering Philip Black, a Florida state trooper, and Donald Irwin, a visiting Canadian constable, in 1976. She was sentenced to death, and her infant and older child were removed from her care as she was sent to Florida’s infamous death row. It would eventually become obvious that Sunny was innocent – having been , caught up in something she had nothing to do with. Tragically, however, she was never officially exonerated. Her death sentence was overturned in 1981, and she was re-sentenced to life with a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence. In 1992, her case was reversed on appeal, and the state – seeking to avoid the public shame of retrying an innocent woman – offered her an Alford Plea, a face-saving move for prosecutors in which a defendant avoids the wait and the risk of being wrongly convicted again by agreeing that a conviction of a lesser crime be entered and is then released immediately on time served. Tafero was executed in 1990  in a notoriously botched state killing during which his head burst into flames during the execution by electric chair.

In 2011, Jacobs married Peter Pringle, who had been exonerated after being convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the Republic of Ireland. (Pringle’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, the death penalty having been abolished in practice in Ireland since 1954, abolished for ordinary murder in 1964, and permanently abolished for all crimes in 1990.)

Sunny and Peter responded to their harrowing experiences by founding The Sunny Center Foundation, which helps other exonerees with their healing process. The center is a non-profit organization that gives individuals support upon leaving prison. The couple welcomed exonerees into their home and incorporated a holistic approach to healing through yoga, meditation, and prayer.

Sunny’s Jewish identity was deeply grounded in her spiritual life. In a Facebook post during the High Holiday season on October 6, 2024, Sunny reflected poignantly on Jewish teachings about repentance, writing the following:

“AVERT THE SEVERE DECREE! For those of us who are Jewish, I’ll note that we are in the season of repentance – the…days of Awe.  The Days of Awe are a time for reflection, repentance, and introspection. It is understood that on the New Year (Rosh Hashana was Thursday and Friday last week), the “Book of Life” is written – who will live and who will die, and how, in the coming year. On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, next Saturday), the book is sealed. Seeking reconciliation among our fellow humans is on each of us, and Teshuvah (repentance), Tefilah (prayer), and Tzedakah (charity) can avert the severe decree from G-d. Thus, if you have wronged me, knowingly or unknowingly, I forgive you. If I have wronged you, knowingly or unknowingly, I seek your forgiveness. Seriously – if there is something we should talk about, send me a note and let’s get on the phone.

As for averting the severe decree, that’s between each of us and our G-d. Teshuvah (repentance) and Tefilah (prayer), I can’t help you with, but Tzedakah (charity)? Whether or not you are Jewish, and whether or not you have anything to repent for, it’s a good day to give! See the link: sunnycenter.org. Whatever donations come during these days of [Awe] will be used to be able to help others impacted by wrongful conviction who are in need of help paying the rent, a bill, buying food, etc… especially now in Florida with the terrible storms and destruction. We can only hope that the sunny living center will survive, and those living there will be safe. Thank you, and I wish you and yours a sweet, healthy and happy new year! And thank you to our friend Abe Bonowitz for the original of this post. He is a great man with a great organization that deserves to be supported. See Death Penalty Action.”

It is most fitting that Sunny invoked Abe Bonowitz, who not only is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Death Penalty Action, but also the co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.”  As a close friend of Sunny’s since 1993, he has reported to Galway Beo how he witnessed first-hand how Sunny’s “life’s passion was helping end the death penalty, and to provide resources for those who have survived wrongful conviction.” Reflecting on her sudden death, Abe stated, “It is a great shock. We had been exchanging messages recently, hoping to help people whose wrongful convictions have not yet been acknowledged.” Abe added that Sunny’s yoga helped her while on death row, and that she never forgot her Jewish identity and would always exchange Jewish holiday greetings. Abe shared that his last correspondence with Sunny was a “Shabbat Shalom” greeting she sent him the weekend before her death.

I did not have the privilege of knowing Sunny like my fellow L’chaim co-founder, as I came into the work of abolition much more recently. However, we did have the opportunity to connect in recent years when she eagerly joined L’chaim as an early member. At that time, she also wished me a meaningful holiday greeting for the upcoming Passover festival.

Given the importance of Sunny’s Jewish identity, it is not lost on the members of L’chaim that Sunny’s tragic death occurred on yet another Jewish holiday, the festival of Shavuot, which marks the revelation of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. Sunny passionately shared with the world the revelation of death penalty abolition – a revelation that she learned from the experience of enduring wrongful conviction and years on death row. That revelation has helped many individuals who initially supported the death penalty change their minds, just as I had a change of heart years ago. As groups like L’chaim continue to work – in the face of ongoing American execution sprees – to open the minds and hearts of others in the Jewish world and beyond in embracing the light of death penalty abolition, members shall continue to invoke the sacred life and inspiration of Sunny Jacobs.

Though Sunny Jacobs was not the namesake for my eldest daughter, I take tremendous pride in the fact that she happens to carry the very same first name. Our child, Sunny, will be a constant reminder of the brighter world that Sunny Jacobs left in response to a darkness that no human should ever experience.

And so, on behalf of the nearly 4,000 members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” a toast to Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs: L’chaim – to Life…Everlasting!

Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM

Board Certified Chaplain – Ohalah: Association of Rabbis and Cantors for Jewish Renewal

Co-Founder –  L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty

Advisory Committee Member –  Death Penalty Action