Troy Anthony Davis is scheduled to be executed by the State of Georgia on Sept. 23, 2008. He has been on death row 17 years for the false charges surrounding the death of a police officer.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
TROY ANTHONY DAVIS
MY NAME IS TROY ANTHONY DAVIS, 38 YEARS OLD.
I HAVE BEEN ON DEATH ROW IN GEORGIA FOR 17 YEARS.
TROY A. DAVIS 657378
GDCP PO BOX 3877 G-3-79
JACKSON, GEORGIA 30233
Please write to Troy Davis sending letters of encouragement and support.
March in Atlanta for Troy Davis, Thursday September 18, 2008.
Free BUS Trip from Savannah to Atlanta and back.
At 11:30 AM on the corner of MLK & Gwinnett across from Connor's Temple.
Call 912-484-0344 if you want to go
Washington DC Solidarity Rally for Troy Davis
When: Thursday, September 18th from 6-7pm
Where: Corner of Harvard St, 16th St, and Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC (in the small triangular park) just two blocks from the Columbia Heights metro station
Why: To show support for Troy and solidarity with those gathering in Atlanta, GA Visit http://tinyurl.com/troydavisaction and then help spread the word
For more information Jen Horwitz at jhorwitz@aiusa.org or 202.544.0200 x344
Death Warrant Issued for Sept 23, 2008: ACT NOW!
Sign the Amnesty Petition
Sign Death Penalty Focus Petition
If you live in Georgia sign a Petition to the
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Support Troy's Campaign by buying
"Innocence Matters" T-Shirts and Buttons.
Invitation to join YouTube Group:
Troy Davis Innocence Matters Video Project
Sept. 16, 2008
Greetings All,
There are four executions scheduled this week and 22 by the end of the year. See a complete list at http://www.NCADP.org or receive a weekly update via e-mail by joining the For Whom the Bells Toll Campaign e-mail update list by clicking here.
NCADP is updating you about the Troy Davis case because it is so high profile and so compelling. We also want you to know that Jack Alderman, who was scheduled to be killed in Georgia later today, received a stay of execution so that he would have an opportunity to make a case for mercy to the Parole Board. Since then, the Parole Board scheduled a clemency hearing for this morning (Tuesday) at 9am. It is quite possible that this execution will take place.
On Friday, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency for Troy Davis. Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty writes the following:
We are aware of two entities that can prevent the execution of Troy Davis: the US Supreme Court and the Parole Board. While the Board did deny clemency on Friday, they have unfettered discretion all the way up to the final hour and can still weigh in.
These odds are tough, but they are not mathematically impossible. Therefore, we will direct our fight where we have any chance! And we must not let off the attention and activism. There are some media strategies we are working on to influence the Supreme Court.
As for the Parole Board, we want to appeal to them again - but we encourage you not to antagonize the board as this is not likely to persuade them to change their decision! The board members each voted Friday in secrecy, so we do not know what the vote count was, but if it was not unanimous, then changing even one person's mind may be what is needed.
**please send another letter to the board**
You can use the new model at AI's page - copy/paste or you can send the letter directly from the AI page with a few clicks:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis
More information and action opportunities are available here.
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Also, if you are anywhere near Atlanta, or if you know someone who is, please consider the following:
EMERGENCY RALLY/MARCH TO SAVE TROY DAVIS!
This Thursday (Sept. 18) at 6pm
Meet: Edgewood Ave. and Peachtree St.
No physical evidence. No murder weapon. Another man implicated. Add your voice to prevent the execution!
Please sign the petition: http://www.gfadp.org
For more info: 404-250-3540 + gfadp@yahoo.com
And finally, here is a little more background, from http://www.Counterpunch.org
The Georgia Supreme Court subsequently agreed to hear the death row prisoner's extraordinary motion for a new trial, but in March the Court rejected the motion largely on procedural grounds in a 4-3 vote.
Troubled by this result, Chief Justice Sears stated in her dissent:
"[...] I believe that this case illustrates that this Court's approach in extraordinary motions for new trials based on new evidence is overly rigid and fails to allow an adequate inquiry into the fundamental question, which is whether or not an innocent person might have been convicted or even, as in this case, might be put to death."
Thank you for taking action today!
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director of Affiliate Support
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.NCADP.org
abe@ncadp.org
mobile: 561-371-5204
Clemency Denied: The Pending Execution of Troy Davis
By LAURA TATE KAGEL
and JEN MARLOWE
Troy Anthony Davis’ execution date and time has been set. If clemency is not granted, Davis will soon be choosing his last meal and determining how his body should be disposed of after his death, scheduled for 7pm on September 23rd.
Davis’ case for clemency is compelling, and has already attracted the attention of media and human rights groups in July of last year. Twenty-four hours before Davis’ scheduled execution on July 16, 2007, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a ninety-day stay to allow it to consider evidence of innocence presented at Davis’ clemency hearing.
The Georgia Supreme Court subsequently agreed to hear the death row prisoner's extraordinary motion for a new trial, but in March the Court rejected the motion largely on procedural grounds in a 4-3 vote.
Troubled by this result, Chief Justice Sears stated in her dissent:
“[…] I believe that this case illustrates that this Court’s approach in extraordinary motions for new trials based on new evidence is overly rigid and fails to allow an adequate inquiry into the fundamental question, which is whether or not an innocent person might have been convicted or even, as in this case, might be put to death.”
In July of 2007, the Board of Pardons and Paroles said that it would “not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.”
But were Davis to be granted a new trial today, the State would have great difficulty proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt. There was no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime for which he was convicted, the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer in Savannah, Mark MacPhail.
At the trial, the witness testimony presented inconsistencies, and since then, seven of nine non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their original testimony, several citing that they gave their original statements against Davis under police intimidation or coercion.
Furthermore, affidavits signed by numerous people who came forward after Davis' conviction implicate one of the non-recanting witnesses in the murder. These affidavits put that witness, Sylvester Coles, at the scene with a .38 caliber gun – the same caliber as the murder weapon, and detail how he hid the gun after the shooting in a dark parking lot and even later boasted about having committed the murder and escaping punishment.
At the time of the original investigation, Coles and his lawyer met promptly with the police, who subsequently neglected to question Cole’s involvement in the murder, search his house for the murder weapon, or include his picture in witness photo spreads.
The testimony of the other non-recanting witness is also highly questionable. He identified Davis at trial as the shooter, although he had claimed two years earlier that he “wouldn’t recognize them [the shooter and another man at the scene] again except for their clothes.”
Numerous national, state, and local human rights groups and individuals are taking actions to protest Davis’ imminent fate. They are organizing a rally to take place on September 11th at six in the evening at the State Capitol in Atlanta, a day before Troy’s scheduled clemency hearing with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Amnesty International launched an on-line letter-writing campaign at http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis to urge the Board to be true to their July 2007 words, stating that no execution would proceed in Georgia unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.
If Troy Anthony Davis, whose case against him is full of holes, doubts and discrepancies, is executed on September 23rd, it will be, indeed, a travesty of justice.
Laura Tate Kagel is the State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International USA in Georgia.
Jen Marlowe is an activist/writer/filmmaker who has been following Troy Davis’s case and corresponding via letters with Davis.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis
troy@aiusa.org / 404-876-5661 ext. 13
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