People’s movement stops execution of Troy Davis
By
Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta
Published Oct 25, 2008 7:52 PM
On Oct. 23, rallies for Troy Davis, an innocent Black man scheduled to be
executed in Georgia, were held in 14 U.S. cities including Atlanta, Washington,
D.C., New York City and San Francisco, and throughout Europe.
Thousands upon thousands of e-mails, letters, phone calls and faxes had been
sent to Georgia officials, media outlets and international bodies urging
immediate action to stop the death sentence from being carried out on the
evening of Oct. 27.
Then, on the morning of Oct. 24, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted
Davis’ lawyers a hearing on his emergency appeal based on claims of
innocence. This is a fairly unprecedented move by the appellate court, which
had previously denied an appeal of his conviction.
Davis’ case has aroused worldwide outrage. Such well-known figures as
former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Pope
Benedict XVI as well as the Parliament of the European Union have all called
his trial and death sentence a miscarriage of justice.
Davis was convicted in 1991 of the murder of a white Savannah off-duty
policeman, Mark Allen McPhail, based solely on eyewitness testimony. The
prosecution had no forensic evidence, no physical proof and no weapon to
connect Davis to the shooting.
Seven of the nine eyewitnesses have recanted their trial testimony, many of
them claiming police coercion and intimidation. Teenagers, questioned for hours
without their parents, were told they would be charged as accessories to the
murder if they didn’t finger Davis. Other witnesses, whose testimony
implicated another man, were not called to court. Incredibly, that man,
Sylvester Coles, who has a legal record of assaults, drug charges and weapons
possession, is who first went to the police and named Davis as the shooter.
Davis has always maintained his innocence. His family and especially his
sister, Martina Correia, have traveled the globe telling the story of police
and prosecutorial misconduct that railroaded Davis onto death row for a killing
he did not commit. Davis’ case illuminates everything that is wrong about
the death penalty—from its inherent racial and class bias that sends
people of color and the poor consistently to the death chambers, to the flawed
judicial system which places process over innocence.
This is Davis’ third reprieve from an execution date in a little over a
year. Just a month ago, he was only an hour away from death when the U.S.
Supreme Court intervened. Inexplicably, on Oct. 14, the court failed to take
his appeal and within a day, Georgia had rescheduled his execution to Oct.
27.
The widespread mass support for Davis and the avalanche of criticism of the
Georgia and U.S. justice system certainly has played a critical role in the
11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ surprising decision. Davis’ lawyers
have 15 days to file their briefs and then the state of Georgia has 10 days to
respond. The appeals court will then schedule a hearing.
For Davis’ family and his advocates, this is another month to publicize,
organize and mobilize hundreds of thousands of more people to take a stand for
justice.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE