Editor’s Note: Imagine the sadness and horror of knowing it might be one’s last night on Earth, facing execution at the hands of a corrupt criminal ‘justice’ system for a crime you did not commit. Please take action on this petition below. Thank you. –efc
Dear Friend,
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed tomorrow in Georgia despite strong evidence of his innocence, but there’s still time to stop the execution.
We were extremely disappointed to learn this morning that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles had denied Davis’ clemency request. But the Chatham County District Attorney has the power to stop the execution, and we’re urging him to do so.
Please join me right now by signing a petition calling on Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm to seek a withdrawal of Davis’ death warrant. This could be Troy Davis’ last hope, and your voice will help advance the call for justice.
Davis was convicted of murdering a police officer in Savannah in 1989 based mainly on questionable eyewitness testimony. Seven of the nine witnesses at Davis’ trial have since recanted, and strong evidence has emerged pointing to another man as the real perpetrator of the murder. Three jurors who sentenced Davis to death now also say they have doubts about his guilt and would not vote for a death sentence if the trial happened today.
Larry Chisolm, the district attorney in Savannah, where Davis was convicted, has the authority to seek a withdrawal of the death warrant. Executing a man despite significant doubts about his guilt would significantly undermine the credibility of Georgia’s criminal justice system, and Chisolm has the power to stop this injustice from happening.
Please take 30 seconds to sign the petition calling on Chisolm to stop the execution of Troy Davis, and share the link tonight with your friends via Email, Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you for taking action,
Maddy deLone
Executive Director
The Innocence Project
The death penalty is totally barbaric – in a supposedly civilized country. Amnesty International has been campaigning against it for years and years, to no avail. As Sarah said “We kill killers as punishment for killing. How insane is that?” And worst of all, many of these men are innocent – and this is well known, Charonc. Thanks for update, Fe.
For anyone following this story, I recommend watching this video montage. my stomach dropped and turned at seconds 12/13, when I heard the crowd “cheering”, at basically a gloating Perry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZHBQCjgm7-Y#!
The US Supreme Court has asked for a reprieve — a delay of execution so that it will have time to review the case. This may take a couple of hours, more or less.
The vigil therefore continues…
Democracy Now live stream from the Georgia prison:
http://www.livestream.com/democracynow
*update* Troy Davis still alive, stay of execution not yet granted…
Live broadcast from outside prison in Jackson, Georgia
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/669892/live_broadcast_from_outside_the_prison_in_jackson%2C_georgia%2C_site_of_troy_davis%27_scheduled_execution/
The law is not capable of Mercy only people can do that. People forget that hardness of heart is a soil for evil to flourish. The law stands utterly condemned when it closes its ears.
..am I fucking retarded.?? I swear I am.. Shit!! Why the hell do we execute folks?.. How can some of us disconnect some of us from this reality when the other’s of us are sitting on the sidelines?… I don’t get it… I must be stupid…
Jere
Charonc, I am not organizing this campaign, I am merely participating. Given the opportunity I would be protesting any execution, no matter how big of a “monster.” if you want to understand why activists focus on specific cases, it’s simply because to win an issue you HAVE to focus. And with the death penalty in particular, it’s easier to have the public hear the message if there is a doubt about the person’s guilt rather than some seeming certainty. I view all of these cases as the same thing, and I am always clear that regardless of the merits of any one case, it is the death penalty itself that I oppose.
Yes, it is a horrible thing. But my point is that I notice none of the protesters are also protesting the death tonight in Texas of someone who seems more clearly a “monster” — who drug a black man behind a truck until he was dead. If you believe the death penalty to be wrong, why not include that man in the petition as well? It seems the Davis issue may be somewhat more of political correctness than commitment to a cause.
lots of busy circuits when i call… hopefully that means lots of other calls are getting through. yes — whether he did it or not, that there is this much question is worth taking the time to go over the case carefully.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/21/fate_of_troy_anthony_davis_hangs
and not everyone who has lost loved ones to murder give in to blood lust and punishment. i think that can be a beautiful message to anyone willing to hear it:
“Twenty-nine years ago, Atlanta resident John Starbuck lost his grandfather to murder. In a terrible twist of fate, Starbuck’s daughter, Meleia Willis-Starbuck, was also murdered years later in 2005. In the face of extreme tragedy, Starbuck has now devoted much of his life to working on restorative justice—a way of healing through reconciliation. He is a member of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/21/fate_of_troy_anthony_davis_hangs
Eric, I agree without reservation. We kill killers as punishment for killing. How insane is that?
It doesn’t make a bit of difference whether he is guilty or innocent — what maters is that there is a question at all, and more than that, what matters is that the death penalty is morally repugnant. It is not reversible. Many, many people have been exculpated both before and after execution. The system that convicts suspects of these crimes has no regard for guilt or innocence. Even after repeated appeals and retrials, fortunate inmates walk out of jail innocent men.
Meanwhile, with an execution, someone is trying to make the point that killing someone is wrong — by killing someone. It’s stupid, and it does not work. If it worked so well, Texas would not have to keep killing someone every few weeks. It’s time for this to stop. And yes we need to be protesting every single execution, but for now Troy is the person who is carrying the torch, he’s the one getting the attention.
Friends, I think you all have heard so many times that this man is innocent, that you are just assuming that is true. He has had several re-trials, and there has been no new evidence shown. The most damning evidence was the dead police officer’s own report as he was chasing Davis, telling other officers what was happening, just before Davis shot him in the face. The gun belonged to Davis and he had used it in a prior crime. The last judge to hear this story came to the same conclusion as all the others — it’s heartbreaking, especially since he’s older and by all accounts a changed person. Here’s something to think about: also tonight in Texas, another killer will be executed for dragging a black man behind his truck to his death. I see that no “anti-death penalty” protesters are jamming the airwaves to save him. If you are truly against the death penalty, should you not be trying to save him, too?
Do not dwell on the negative, instead SEND LIGHT. To Troy, to the decision makers, to anyone and everyone involved in the case.
The very definition of darkness is the absence of light! SEND LIGHT
Thank you, Tracy.
Things to do in the final hours, to resist Troy Davis’ execution (scheduled for 7pm EDT):
From Amnesty International USA here:
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/deathpenalty/resisting-troy-execution/
Fax or call the Parole Board and ask them to reconsider their decision and grant Troy clemency. Fax: 404-651-8502 and 404-651-6670 (try both as they will be busy), Phone: 404-656-0693 and 404-656-5651
Fax or call the Savannah District Attorney, Larry Chisolm, and ask him to urge the local judge to vacate the execution warrant. Fax: 912-652-7328, Phone: 912-652-7308.
Call the local judge, Penny Haas Freesman, and ask her to vacate the warrant. Phone: (912) 652-7252
Call the Governor, Nathan Deal, and ask him to use his influence to encourage the board to grant clemency. Phone: 404-656-1776.
In Georgia, stand with us, saying “NOT IN MY NAME!”
a) Capitol vigil – 6pm
b) Prison vigil – 5:30pm across the street from the prison at Towaliga County Line Baptist Church (153 Short Road, Jackson). Take I-75 to Exit 201 and head toward the Hess gas station (turn left (east) off the interstate if heading south on I-75) on Barnesville-Jackson Rd. (Ga 36) and turn right past the gas station.
Done. Signing, that is.
I can’t believe this shit. He’s actually been on my mind for a few days now. Almost constantly. And when I found out he was denied clemency, despite the new info available, I just cringed.
Most bizarre situation.
I know innocent people slip through the cracks all the time, but this is such a glaring example of a mishandled investigation… Just boggles the mind.
I hope Chisolm gets it together.
Yes. Thank you for this Eric. Keep us informed.
This is quite a day to stop and reflect on how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go…don’t ask, don’t tell is history, yet hours from now we will execute an innocent man…
Thank you for posting this. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you for asking us, as John Lennon did, to simply imagine.