06/04/2025
It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that our friend, Sunny Jacobs, passed away yesterday morning in a fire in her home in Ireland. Sunny was a tireless advocate for human rights and the abolition of the death penalty. Her experience being wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death fueled her passion both for justice and joy, no matter the circumstance.
After 17 years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, Sunny had to rebuild her life in so many ways. She had to build a relationship with her children–who were now adults–and build a life without her partner, who had been executed for a crime he didn’t commit. She had to figure out how to walk through this world not crushed by the weight of the tragedy and injustice she had experienced. Slowly, she found her people–rekindling her relationship with her children and grandchildren and finding community in fellow yoga and meditation practitioners. Later, at a talk in London advocating against the death penalty, she met her person–Peter Pringle. A fellow death row exoneree, Peter spent 15 years in an Irish prison before he too was exonerated. They built a simple life together in rural western Ireland, caring for animals and growing much of their own food.
It wasn’t enough to live her life in peace in the rural Irish countryside with her partner. She wanted others who had similar experiences to also have a healing place. So she and Peter started The Sunny Center in rural Ireland, where they welcomed exonerees like them to experience the healing quality of nature, peace, and community.
As Sunny transitions onto her next adventure, her huge heart and spirit call us to live in our full joy and power. “When you’re in prison, and in lots of other situations in life, you feel powerless,” Sunny shared with us several years ago. “They claim that they have taken your power, but it’s not true. Yes, it is true that you can’t go where you want or be with whom you want, but you are still in charge of what happens inside of you. No one can touch that unless you let them. No one can take that power away unless you give it away. This discovery saved me from believing that their way of seeing things was the only way. We are all spirits on a journey. Our imperfections help us learn, and, through the energy that makes up all things, we are all connected. So I say to you, Namaste: the divinity within me salutes the divinity within you.”
Blessings to you, Sunny, on your journey. We are so grateful you graced us with your wisdom, joy, and fierce love. May we all, with each breath we take, try to live our lives a bit more like Sunny–with boundless strength, energy, humor, love, and gratitude, always remembering the power that lives within us is a light for us to share with others.
