[Ppnews] Support Troy Davis - Stop the Execution

Political Prisoner News ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Mon Sep 19 10:19:57 EDT 2011


This is the fourth time the state of Georgia has 
set a date to murder Troy Davis. The power of the 
people saved him the first three times. We can do 
it again. And this time, we can convince the 
Board of Pardons and Parole to grant him 
clemency, FREE TROY DAVIS and return him to the 
loving arms of his family! Read new statements by two of Troy's sisters below.

Go to 
<http://sfbayview.com/2011/troy-davis%E2%80%99-sister-kim-my-brother-got-me-out-of-my-wheelchair-please-help-me-save-his-life/>http://sfbayview.com/2011/troy-davis%E2%80%99-sister-kim-my-brother-got-me-out-of-my-wheelchair-please-help-me-save-his-life/ 
to see photos of Troy's family and three very 
important videos. Use the links below or online 
to help stop the execution, set for Wednesday, Sept. 21.



<http://sfbayview.com/2011/troy-davis%e2%80%99-sister-kim-my-brother-got-me-out-of-my-wheelchair-please-help-me-save-his-life/>Troy 
Davis’ sister Kim: My brother got me out of my 
wheelchair; please help me save his life

September 18, 2011



Call the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole at 
(404) 656-5651 and look below for More ways you 
can help stop the execution of Troy Davis, now set for Wednesday, Sept. 21

by Kimberly Davis
I have a lifetime’s worth of reasons for wanting to save my brother Troy.

When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 
age 14, Troy left high school, signed up for 
night classes and started working so that he 
could take me to physical therapy and help my mother out financially.

It was my brother’s help and reassurance through 
my long struggle that led me to get out of my wheelchair. He is my hero.

But as you know, the state of Georgia has set an 
execution date for Troy on Sept. 21, based on 
supposed evidence against him that does not exist.

But we believe that with God’s help, we will prevail.

Will you help us to continue to fight to save his 
life? I need you to reach out to the Georgia 
Board of Pardons and Parole one last time. Watch 
this video message I recorded for the NAACP, and 
follow the instructions to send your letter: [See 
this new video at <http://www.sfbayview.com>www.sfbayview.com.]

Last Thursday, Troy called to tell me he had just 
heard about the 660,000 petitions delivered to 
the Board of Pardons and Parole in his name. He 
was deeply moved. He told me he knew that had 
supporters around the world, but that he had no 
idea that the support was that widespread.

My family is so very appreciative of the support 
from NAACPers like you, but the fight is not over. We cannot let up now.

Twenty years ago, Troy’s conviction was based 
entirely on circumstantial evidence and witness 
testimony. In the past two decades, seven of the 
nine witnesses in his case have recanted their 
testimony or changed their stories.

There was never a shred of physical evidence or 
DNA connecting Troy to the crime. No murder 
weapon has ever been found. In fact, one of the 
jurors recently stated that if she knew then what 
she knows now about the case, she would never have sentenced Troy to death.

I know that my love for my brother is not reason 
enough to take him off death row. It is not 
reason enough to stay his execution order.
But there is simply no evidence to suggest that 
Troy committed the crime. That’s why I am asking 
for help from NAACP members. You have come 
through for us before, and we need your help now more than ever.

This Monday, Sept. 19, the Georgia Board of 
Pardons and Paroles will meet to decide Troy’s fate. It is Troy’s last chance.

Please watch my video message to the NAACP, then 
tell the board to stay Troy’s execution order and 
grant him clemency, because there is simply too much doubt.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already 
spoken out in the name of justice for Troy. On 
behalf of my family, I’m asking you to please add 
your voice today, and help us save my brother’s life.

The NAACP, which issued this statement, and its 
national president, Ben Jealous, has been a 
leader in the campaign to stop the execution of 
Troy Davis, scheduled for this Wednesday, Sept. 
21. Learn more at <http://www.naacp.org>www.naacp.org.


The execution of Troy Davis: A mother’s story

by Martina Davis Correia as told to Jen Marlowe and Monifa Bandele

My son was six weeks old when I first brought him 
to meet his uncle, Troy Davis. You would have 
thought I gave Troy a gold bar. He was scared to 
hold my tiny baby. I literally had to just put 
De’Jaun in his arms and walk away. And he was 
like, “But he’s so little. Come get him, get him, 
get him.” I said, “No, you get him. You hold 
him.” It was such a magical moment, because it 
was like I was giving my brother this gift.

As a young child, De’Jaun didn’t understand that 
my brother, his uncle was incarcerated, much less 
slated for death. When the family was getting 
ready to leave after a visit, he’d say, “Come on, 
Troy, let’s go, let’s go!” But he couldn’t go 
with us, and my mom would say, “He’s in school. 
He can’t come. One day, he’ll come home with us.”

As De’Jaun grew older, I explained to him that 
his uncle was in prison. But I had not yet told 
him that Georgia planned to kill him. He confided 
in his uncle more than anyone else. When De’Jaun 
was 12 years old, it became clear to me that my 
son understood far more than I had realized.

Our dog, Egypt, had gotten out of the yard and 
had been hit by a car. We immediately brought 
Egypt to a vet who told us that the dog’s leg was 
broken in three places and would need extensive 
surgery to be repaired. If Egypt did not have the 
surgery, she would have to be put to sleep. The 
cost of the surgery was upwards of $10,000.

As I drove De’Jaun home, I wondered how in the 
world I would come up with $10,000. Putting Egypt 
down might be the only realistic possibility.

In the silence of the ride, De’Jaun turned to me 
and said, “Mom, are you going put my dog to sleep 
like they’re trying to put my Uncle Troy to sleep?”

I had to swallow this giant lump in my throat to 
hold back the tears. I didn’t know that he 
related the two things. That he knew they were 
trying to kill his Uncle Troy. And he knew about 
which method that they would use to kill him. At 
that point, I decided that if I had to pawn my 
car, I wasn’t going to be able to put our dog to sleep.

In addition to dealing with his uncle facing 
execution, carrying a full load of advanced 
placement classes in his high-school’s 
International Baccalaureate program, my son lives 
with the stress of me being critically ill. I 
have been battling stage-four breast cancer since 
De’Jaun was 6 years old. My original diagnosis 
was six months or less. That was over 10 years ago.

My brother, Troy Davis, is on death row for the 
1989 tragic murder of Savannah police officer 
Mark MacPhail. On Aug. 19, MacPhail was gunned 
down while rushing to the rescue of a homeless 
man being pistol-whipped in the parking lot of a 
Greyhound bus station. The day after the murder, 
a man named Sylvester “Red” Coles told the police 
that Troy was the shooter. Troy, then 19 years 
old, was arrested and eventually convicted in 
1991, primarily on the basis of eyewitness testimony.

There is no physical evidence linking Troy to the 
crime. The murder weapon was never recovered. Yet 
he was sentenced to death. He has been on death 
row for 20 years, despite the fact that the case 
against him has completely unraveled. In fact, 
seven of the nine non-police witnesses later 
recanted or changed their testimonies, many 
stating that police coercion and intimidation led 
to their initial implication of my brother. 
Several new witnesses have come forward and 
implicated Sylvester Coles as the shooter.

This is Troy’s fourth time facing execution. 
De’Jaun remembers the first execution date 
vividly. It was July 17, 2007. He was 13 years 
old. We went to go see Troy, and Troy wasn’t 
really worrying about himself. He was mostly 
worried about his family — about us. I was 
looking at my mother. She was praying, praying, 
praying. It was a lot of people constantly praying, constantly praying.

Troy gave each family member a duty. What did he 
task his young nephew? He told him, “Just 
continue to do good in school, do what’s right, 
pick the right friends, watch over the family, 
and just respect the family. Respect your mom, 
your grandmother, and your aunties. Do what you 
love and have a good profession.” The execution 
was stayed within 24 hours of being carried out. 
The next year, Troy came within 90 minutes of being executed.

My son is wise beyond his years. He’ll say, “My 
uncle is not the only one going through this type 
of pain 
 a lot of people really want someone to 
hear their case but they don’t have the power and 
resources.” He knows that over 130 death row 
inmates have been exonerated, found innocent 
since 1973, demonstrating just how many innocent 
people are convicted and sentenced to death.

On March 28, 2011, the Supreme Court denied 
Troy’s final appeal, clearing the way for the 
state of Georgia to set a fourth execution date. 
Two weeks later, our mother passed away from 
“natural causes.” De’Jaun was the one who found 
her. She had just received a clean bill of health 
from her doctor the day before her death. I don’t 
think she could take another execution date. I 
believe she died of a broken heart.

Over the years support has grown. Amnesty 
International, NAACP, the ACLU, 
ColorOfChange.org, Bishop Desmond Tutu, President 
Jimmy Carter and many more have stood up for Troy.

There is #toomuchdoubt in my brother’s case: 
There’s no physical evidence; seven out of nine 
witnesses have recanted or changed their 
testimony; there’s evidence that suggests there 
may be another shooter. Click 
<http://www.naacp.org/pages/troy-davis-a-case-for-clemency>here 
for more details.

But still, last week, the state of Georgia 
decided to issue an execution date – Sept. 21.

We are turning up the truth, staying hopeful and 
vigilantly praying that Troy’s life won’t be ended on Sept. 21.


Last week, the state of Georgia decided to issue 
an execution date – Sept. 21. We are turning up 
the truth, staying hopeful and vigilantly praying 
that Troy’s life won’t be ended on Sept. 21.

Our supporters have launched a number of 
campaigns directing people to the many ways they 
can support Troy. Please join them for Troy, for me and for my son.

This story first appeared on 
<http://www.momsrising.org/blog/the-execution-of-troy-davis-a-mother%e2%80%99s-story/#ixzz1YKbdno5j>MomsRising.org, 
where moms and people who love them go to change our world.


More ways you can help stop the execution of Troy Davis




Bombard the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole 
and Gov. Deal with calls, faxes and emails TODAY

Tell them: “Stop the execution of Troy Davis! Grant him clemency!”
    * Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole: phone 
(404) 656-5651, fax (404) 651-8502
    * Gov. Nathan Deal: phone (404) 651-1776, fax 
(404) 657-7332, email 
<mailto:georgia.governor at gov.state.ga.us>georgia.governor at gov.state.ga.us, 
or use the web contact form at 
<http://gov.state.ga.us/contact.shtml>http://gov.state.ga.us/contact.shtml


Sign all the petitions

    * Sign the 
<http://action.naacp.org/campaign/davis?utm_medium=email&utm_source=NAACP&utm_campaign=20110906DavisExecutionOrder&utm_content=NameWall&subsource=20110906DavisExecutionOrder>NAACP 
petition
    * Sign the 
<http://action.naacp.org/page/m/474a3643/79940986/7fd2ece5/2f614606/3673505963/VEsE/>NEW 
NAACP petition to District Attorney Larry 
Chisolm, asking him to withdraw his death warrant against Troy Davis
    * Sign the 
<http://act.colorofchange.org/go/966?akid=2226.699.Zi_8xp&t=3>Color 
of Change petition, also to DA Larry Chisolm
    * Sign the 
<http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=khKPI1ODLgISKaJ&s=hkLYIcPRKkLXIdOUIsE&m=boILKWOsF4JFK1I>Amnesty 
International petition
    * Sign the 
<http://www.iacenter.org/troydavis/>International Action Center petition
    * Sign the 
<http://www.change.org/petitions/chairman-state-of-georgia-board-of-pardons-and-paroles-grant-clemency-to-my-brother-troy-davis?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=gEPEnLdCOc_POTJRMMXkY>Change.org 
petition
    * Sign the 
<https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3621&autologin=true&s_subsrc=110913_troy_davis_noshare&emsrc=Nat_Appeal_AutologinEnabled&emtype=advocacy&emissue=capital_punishment&JServSessionIdr004=dvosodbug2.app223a>ACLU 
petition
    * Sign the 
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2518/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8227&tag=email>Faithful 
America petition

The 
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/campaigns/abolish-the-death-penalty/death-penalty-campaign-resources/supporters-of-clemency-for-troy-davis?msource=W1109EADP03&tr=y&auid=9476816>growing 
range of scholars, world leaders and prominent 
figures who are also demanding justice – 
including former President Jimmy Carter, 
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, John Legend, R.E.M., 
Russell Simmons, Mia Farrow, Indigo Girls, a 
former governor of Texas and a former member of 
Congress from Georgia – is simply awe-inspiring.
The outpouring of support you’ve shown for Troy 
Davis so far has been phenomenal – more than 
660,000 of you have signed the petition for 
clemency and nearly 500 events have popped up in 
small towns and big cities alike all over the 
United States. Supporters from the U.K., France, 
Denmark, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia and other 
countries have also joined in to lend their voices.


Find more ways to help stop the execution of Troy 
Davis and learn more about his case

    * <http://troyanthonydavis.org/>Troy Anthony Davis, his family’s website
    * 
<http://www.naacp.org/blog/entry/toomuchdoubt-a-campaign-to-save-troy-davis-life>NAACP 
Too Much Doubt Campaign
    * 
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/cases/usa-troy-davis?id=1701026>Amnesty 
International Too Much Doubt Campaign
    * 
<http://www.iactucson.org/2011/09/08/stop-the-execution-of-troy-davis/>International 
Action Center Stop the Execution Campaign
    * 
<http://troydaviseducation.wordpress.com/>Educators 
for Troy ‘Teach Troy Davis’ Emergency Curriculum for Educators
    * <http://www.gfadp.org/>Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
    * 
<http://www.ncadp.org/#Troy_Front_Page>National 
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
    * <http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/>Campaign to End the Death Penalty


Write to Troy

Send our brother Troy some love and light. Troy 
Anthony Davis, 41, has been on death row in 
Georgia for more than 19 years: Troy A. Davis, 
657378, GDCP G-3-79, P.O. Box 3877, Jackson GA 30233.



Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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