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<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>Amnesty International Media
Release</font> <br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>For Immediate Release</font> <br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>Monday, March 28,
2011</font><font size=3> <br><br>
</font><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b>
Amnesty International Deeply Disappointed by Supreme Court’s Decision
Rejecting Troy Davis Appeal <br><br>
</b></div>
<i>Contact: AIUSA media relations office, 202-509-8194, or <br>
Laura Moye, 202-675-8582</i></font><font size=3> <br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>(Washington, D.C.) -- Laura
Moye, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) death penalty abolition campaign
director, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision today to reject Troy Davis’ appeal of the federal
district court’s ruling that Davis did not prove his innocence: <br><br>
“Amnesty International is extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court
rejected Troy Davis’ appeal. It appears that the justice system is
comfortable allowing someone to be executed when there are lingering
doubts about guilt in the case. No objective person could confidently
determine that Davis is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt from the
evidence available now in his case. That leaves an ominous cloud hanging
over an irreversible sentence such as the death penalty.</font> <br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>“Because there was no physical
evidence linking Davis to the murder, nor was there physical evidence
exonerating him, the case rested on a group of witnesses whose
credibility was readily accepted for conviction, but so easily rejected
in the appeals process.</font> <br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>“The Georgia Board of Pardons and
Paroles, as the final fail-safe, has the opportunity to commute his
sentence to life and prevent the possibility of executing an innocent
person.”</font> <br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4>For more information, please visit:
<a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/"><u>www.amnestyusa.org</a><br>
***********************************************<br>
</u></font>P.O. Box 55196, Atlanta, GA 30308<br>
<a href="http://www.GFADP.org">www.GFADP.org</a><br>
<a href="mailto:GFADP@yahoo.com">GFADP@yahoo.com</a><br><br>
Press Release
Contact: Kathryn Hamoudah
404.688.1202 or <br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
404.819.4233
<br>
March 28, 2011 <br><br>
<br>
Georgians Say There is No Room for Doubt in Troy Davis Case<br><br>
Atlanta- Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (GFADP),
Georgia’s statewide coalition of organizations and individuals opposed to
the death penalty, condemns the decision by the United States Supreme
Court to deny relief for Troy Anthony Davis even though grave doubts
permeate the case.<br><br>
“The case of Troy Davis exemplifies all that is wrong with Georgia’s
death penalty system, of grave concern is the real threat of executing an
innocent person, “said, GFADP Board Chair, Kathryn Hamoudah. “Proceeding
with the execution of Troy Davis would be callous, careless and
irreversible. The state should slow down to address the
well-documented, serious problems with a system that irreversibly takes
human life, rather than rush to carry out an execution of a possibly
innocent man.”<br>
<br>
No physical evidence ties Mr. Davis to the crime and a weapon was never
found. He was convicted solely on the basis of faulty eyewitness
testimony – the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide.
Eyewitness misidentification accounts for 75 percent of wrongful
convictions in over 200 DNA exonerations. Georgians have become
increasingly aware of just how unreliable eyewitness identification
evidence is as we have watched seven men exonerated – all convicted on
the basis of eyewitness testimony – after spending years in prison for
crimes they didn’t commit.<br><br>
Across the nation states are moving away from the death penalty because
of growing concerns about innocence, unfairness, discriminatory
application, lack of efficacy, and other reasons. The death penalty
was intended to be reserved for the worst offenders, but in practice, it
is arbitrary and unfair. The system is fraught with error, plagued
by poor legal representation, and discriminates on the basis of income,
race and geography - with the majority carried out in the South- among
many problems that leave it too broken to be fixed. <br><br>
“Knowing what we know now-recanting witnesses, perjured testimony and who
the likely shooter is-I cannot see any jury ever convicting Mr. Davis,”
continued Kathryn Hamoudah. “Troy Davis has strong innocence claims.
There is no room for doubt when a person’s life is on the line.”<br><br>
By choosing to deny Mr. Davis’ claims, the courts have ostensibly
declared that it is permissible to execute a convicted person who is
likely innocent. GFADP believes that this is a standard civilized society
should not accept. <br><br>
For more information or to set up an interview, contact: Kathryn Hamoudah
at 404.819.4233 and
<a href="mailto:khamoudah@schr.org">khamoudah@schr.org</a><br>
-------------<br><br>
(NOTE: In case the links don't come up in the below letter, they are all
available at <a href="http://www.ncadp.org/">http://www.ncadp.org/</a> --
please do SOMETHING!)<br><br>
Dear Fellow Abolitionists,<br><br>
Earlier today it was announced that Troy Davis’ appeal before the U.S.
Supreme Court has been
denied.<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DJz9XxNFGSUe64vgVweWdIwxkZ4d82pm">
Click here</a> to read the response of NCADP's Georgia Affiliate,
Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.<br><br>
Needless to say, this puts Troy Davis at risk of another execution date
within as few as two weeks. This will be the fourth time everyone
involved with this case has to go through this process. Please add your
thoughts and prayers to ours as we consider how this situation once again
tears at Troy Davis and his family and friends, and also how this will
impact the family and friends of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail, the
victim in this case. Then, join us in taking action to help stop the
execution!<br><br>
If you are unfamiliar with this case, the nutshell is that seven of the
nine witnesses who testified against Davis at his trial have changed
their story, and no physical evidence links Davis to the crime. Detailed
information is
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XI3XgOzzeQGGXlETRZ67ZIwxkZ4d82pm">
here</a>. No one should be executed, especially when there are so many
doubts about guilt. <br><br>
This case has generated widespread attention because so many people in
Georgia and throughout the world are disturbed by the thought of a man
being executed when so much doubt about his guilt remains unresolved.
Nothing can undermine public faith in a criminal justice system faster
than an execution when there are still serious doubts about guilt.
<br><br>
Now is the time to re-invigorate the clemency campaign to prevent this
execution. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is the entity
(not the governor) that can spare Troy Davis and which can commute his
sentence to life. <br><br>
Amnesty International USA, a national Affiliate of NCADP, has been taking
the lead on the clemency campaign for Troy Davis, and we encourage you to
participate in the following actions. <br><br>
Needed actions: <br><br>
1) Please help amass petitions on Troy Davis’ behalf by signing the
online petition and by asking others you know to sign as well. Sign the
petition
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9U5fLHjLt6FpnLqgS22OHIwxkZ4d82pm">
here</a>. Use this URL to facebook and tweet it:
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2B%2Fdktz5VED0%2FXqRTEzJQ4YwxkZ4d82pm">
<font size=4 color="#0000FF"><u>http://tinyurl.com/l79wpy<br><br>
</a></u></font><font size=4>You can also print out and collect signatures
on the hardcopy petition (return them to the address on the petition
form), which you can access
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=eOz%2B68fzuwNLK0lyunOzS4wxkZ4d82pm">
here</a>.<br><br>
<br>
2) Please send these sign-on letters to people you know who are clergy or
legal professionals: <br><br>
The religious leader sign-on letter is
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nQs2S3uNHmuHQ%2BOJP2Kh5xiXuiDTsBkc">
here</a>.<br><br>
The legal professionals sign-on letter is
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=x7hsYadmIvIEnv0v0KqNrYwxkZ4d82pm">
here</a>. <br><br>
<br>
3) Be prepared to come out for an international day of
solidarity:<br><br>
If and when an execution date is scheduled, which now seems very likely
despite the fact that Georgia's supply of sodium thiopental was recently
confiscated by the
<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=s%2B2YSmPmwAM4KAaVNt4LW4wxkZ4d82pm">
Drug Enforcement Agency</a>, there will be a global day of action.
We will join our voices across the U.S. and across the world to tell the
parole board in Atlanta that Troy Davis must not be executed.
Vigils, tabling, street-corner demos and other activities will be
encouraged on this day. We will use this action to drive up the
number of petitions and generate media visibility. Stay tuned for a
date and instructions. <br><br>
Thank you.<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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