12 Year Old Cristian Fernandez Won't Spend Life in Prison, 160,000 Join Campaign

In a matter of days, the Change.org campaign to have 12 year old Christian Fernandez tried as a juvenile in Florida has grown from 10,000 to over 160,000. Supporters all over the world have been asking Angela Corey to try Cristian as a juvenile, and above all else, ensure that he is not sent to an adult prison facility. They have been hopeful and confident that Corey will do the right thing. And they might just be right.

Corey has recently stated that Fernandez will not serve life in prison and that he will serve his sentence in a juvenile facility. He will not stand trial, and a plea deal is expected to be worked out soon.

In early March, Cristian was left alone with his two year-old half-brother David, despite having broken David’s leg a year prior. While the two boys were alone, Cristian allegedly pushed his brother against a bookcase, and David sustained a head injury. After their mother returned home, she waited six hours before taking David to the hospital, where he eventually died.

In addition to the 160,000 people who joined the Change.org campaign, sign-on letter aimed at Corey has been started by The Children's Campaign, a Florida non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of children. The letter has been signed by hundreds of individuals, organizations and churches including:

•Youth Crisis Center, Jacksonville

•Florida Juvenile Justice Association

•Gray Memorial United Methodist Church

•Communities in Schools, Jacksonville

•National Council on Crime and Delinquency Center for Girls and Young Women

•Paul McClintock, Department of Juvenile Justice, Board Chair C 6

•Children's Movement of Florida

•Youth Advocate Programs, INC

Despite only being 12 and having lived a life of neglect, physical, and sexual abuse, State Attorney Angela Corey is charging him as an adult. If convicted, Fernandez could face a maximum penalty of life in adult prison without the possibility of parole.

It's also clear that Corey, who is an elected official, was hearing the concerns of those who joined the Change.org campaign. She had some strong words for them:

"Quite frankly, I resent people who don't know anything about this case espousing opinions without knowing all of the facts and circumstances," said Corey.

"They're looking at it as a social issue. But my obligation is clear: I am the chief prosecutor on this circuit and it is my job to enforce the laws that exist on this book. NOT to respond to petitions, and not to try and legislate," she said.

A new pre-trial hearing date of October, 31 has been set for Cristian.

http://news.change.org/stories/12-year-old-cristian-fernandez-wont-spend-life-in-prison-160000-join-campaign

Save Cristian Fernandez

About Save You can help Cristian by signing and sharing the following petition for him: https://www.change.org/petitions/reverse-decision-to-try-12-yo-cristian-fernandez-as-an-adult

Cristian is a 12 year old child in Jacksonville, Florida, facing a life without parole sentence for first degree murder.

Cristian was born on January 14th of 1999 to a mother who was as old as he is today. Cristian is 12 years old. On March 15th he was arrested relating to the alleged beating of his 2 year old brother David. At the time of his arrest, David was under the care of St. Luke's hospital, receiving treatment for injuries he sustained the day before.

David died on March 16th as a result of injuries to the head. Doctors who took care of the young child indicated that if his mother had brought him to the hospital when he was first injured he might not have died as a result. However, the child's mother waited for two hours before taking him to the hospital. She did not call 911 before taking her son to the hospital.

12 year old Cristian was left in the apartment to care for his 2 year old brother even though he had broken the child's leg while wrestling in January of the same year. Cristian's arrest report indicated that Cristian was worried about the condition of his brother and was also concerned about what would happen to him as a result of his hurting his younger brother.

Cristian's mother was arrested on the 15th as well. It is documented in the arrest report that she failed to immediately seek medical attention for little David and that she spent time researching his injury online before she took him to the hospital. David was unconscious while this occurred. Biannela also admitted to leaving Cristian alone with David.

On June 3rd, Cristian was indicted for first degree murder in his brother's death. On the 8th of the same month he was arraigned in court for this charge. The prosecution requested a gag order placed on the parties involved in the case. Prosecutor Mark Caliel stated, "We have a concern that any comments being interpreted by a potential jury pool could inhibit our ability to fairly and adequately try this case."

Their request was granted.

On June 5th, media outlets reported that Cristian had been examined by two separate forensic psychologists. Each concluded that he was "emotionally underdeveloped but essentially reformable despite a tough life."

On July 22nd, Cristian appeared for his pre-trial hearing. At this hearing he was charged with first-degree murder in adult court. As a result of this charge, Cristian faces life in prison.

Cristian's life has been very difficult. When he was just two years old he was found wandering the streets naked in a hotel parking lot. He was dirty and neglected. Cristian's grandmother was acting as his guardian at the time and was charged with possession of drugs and neglect. Cristian and his 14 year old mother were placed in foster care.

In October of 2010, months before David's death, Cristian was at his home when his younger brother observed the suicide of his violent and abusive stepfather. Authorities found Cristian's brother David covered in the stepfather's blood after he shot himself with a 9mm gun. The stepfather committed suicide to avoid abuse charges stemming from his having punched Cristian in the face, giving him a severe injury to his eye.

Cristian's mother would later claim in a letter to the Florida Times Union that DCF placed her children on a waiting list for counseling, denying them access to the therapy they needed to cope with the trauma they endured. DCF has not responded to these claims. However, the Florida state attorney's office issued a subpoena to have the letter turned over to them on September 1st. The Florida Time Union argued in court on September 9th that they had a right to refuse to turn over the letter, citing the first amendment.

Cristian is scheduled for his next hearing on October 5th to evaluate the results of a third psychological examination.

Cristian is a child who has been physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. The system failed him his entire life and now it stands to repeat history by refusing Cristian the right to be tried in juvenile court. Cristian has demonstrated he is amenable to rehabilitation. There is no logical reason to deny this child his right to the programs and treatment provided through the juvenile court system. Help Cristian receive the justice he deserves as a juvenile.

http://www.justice4juveniles.com

Mos Def Challenges BET, Oprah, and Obama to Pay Tribute to Executed Prisoner Troy Davis

On September 21, 2011, at 11:08 p.m. in Jackson, Georgia, a death row inmate named Troy Davis, convicted 20 years ago for the murder of off-duty Savannah policeman Mark MacPhail, was executed by lethal injection. For decades, though, Davis, his supporters, and many justice advocates had proclaimed the prisoner's innocence. And in the final weeks leading up to his scheduled execution, celebrities and rap stars helped lead a last-minute push to save Davis's life, even pleading with President Obama to personally intervene. However, the Supreme Court denied any stay of execution. Obama did not act. And Davis's time ran out. But last night, halfway through the Black Star show at the Fillmore Miami Beach, Mos Def paused between songs to challenge the BET Hip-Hop Awards, Oprah, and Obama to pay tribute to the recently executed death row inmate. "The BET Awards are happenin' in Atlanta, Georgia, apparently this weekend on Saturday, right?," Def said. "I'm making a strong, serious recommendation and suggestion.

Mos Def message to BET Awards 2011 (Live at The Fillmore)

"In the interest of humanity and the rights of human beings all over God's spaceship, Earth," he continued while Talib Kweli stood with his arms crossed, nodding his approval, "if you are doing or hosting this event in Atlanta, Georgia, right after this young man, Troy Davis, was brutally murdered, in public for the whole world to see, you should definitely dedicate one part of your show. "If it's the opening, the beginning, the middle, or the end ... Bring his mama out there, show her your support and show her some words of comfort and encouragement. "This is not the moment for your silence, BET! Or anybody else! And that goes to every peep from Oprah to Obama: When you get a free moment, call Troy Davis mama!"

Funeral of Troy Davis Takes Place Today

More than 1,000 attend Troy Davis funeral

Funeral directors bring the casket of Troy Davis into the Jonesville Baptist Church before his funeral in Savannah, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011. Davis died by lethal injection for the 1989 slaying of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton) (CBS/AP) Last Updated 3:46 p.m. ET

SAVANNAH — More than 1,000 family members and supporters gathered in Georgia on Saturday to say farewell to Troy Davis, who insisted even until his execution that he was innocent. The funeral at Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah opened with a slideshow of photos of Davis in his blue-trimmed prison uniform with his mother, sister and other family members. The service, which lasted three and a half hours, took on a political tone with speakers calling for the death penalty to be abolished. "Troy's last words that night were he told us to keep fighting until his name is cleared in Georgia," said Benjamin Jealous, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a leading civil rights group. "But most important, keep fighting until the death penalty is abolished and this can never be done to anyone else."

An undated photo of Death Row inmate Troy Davis. (Credit: AP/Georgia Dept. of Corrections) The 42-year-old Davis was executed Sept. 21 for the 1989 slaying of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. Courts ultimately upheld his death sentence, despite emotional pleas for his life from thousands across the globe. The Saturday funeral was also attended by Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International, and comedian and activist Dick Gregory. Davis' 17-year-old nephew, DeJaun Davis-Correia said his uncle, who spent hours helping him with homework over the phone, would want his loved ones to stay upbeat. "You really shouldn't be sad all the time, you should be happy and be positive. That's the attitude my uncle instilled in me," he said. Blue and white roses were placed on the casket because of Davis' love for the Dallas Cowboys pro football team. The Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, delivered the eulogy. "I did not come here all the way from Atlanta to tell you this is God's will," said Warnock, who served as a spiritual adviser to Davis on death row. "God's will is not revealed in this tragedy." On Friday at a church memorial Davis was remembered as a gentle man who faced his execution with grace and dignity. More than 250 people, including NAACP president Benjamin Jealous and comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, jammed the New Life Apostolic Temple in Davis' hometown of Savannah for the memorial that served as a prelude to Saturday's funeral. Friends, pastors, anti-death penalty activists and Davis' lawyer all took turns at a podium behind his closed casket, decorated with a spray of white and purple flowers. Supporters remember Troy Davis at memorial Longtime friend Earl Redman, who said he'd known Davis since age 8, told the crowd Friday that during prison visits Davis would often say that he expected to die in the death chamber. "He looked me in the eye and he told me, 'Don't let me die in vain. Don't let my name die in vain,"' Redman said as a church usher tore paper towels off a roll for teary attendees to dry their eyes. The Rev. Randy Loney, a Macon pastor who often visited Davis in prison, said he was always struck by Davis' gentle nature despite the death sentence looming over him. Referring to the catchphrase adopted by his supporters — "I am Troy Davis" — Loney said he came to realize that "in a lot of ways, we are not Troy Davis." "We did not wake up every morning and go to sleep every evening with the specter of the executioner in our eyes," he said.

A line of people wait outside the Jonesville Baptist Church before the funeral of Troy Davis in Savannah, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011. (Stephen Morton/AP Photo)

Family, friends celebrate Troy Davis' life at funeral

STORY HIGHLIGHTS "I am Troy Davis," chant those at the funeral Davis is called an innocent man put to death Many speak out against the death penalty He was the "soul of something profound," says his lawyer
(CNN) -- It was inevitable that the fiery politics of the death penalty would punctuate Saturday's remembrance of Troy Anthony Davis. His 20 years of claims of innocence on Georgia's death row earned him millions of supporters who believe the state wrongfully executed him on the night of September 21. Saturday, Davis' family and closest friends gathered inside the Jonesville Baptist Church to celebrate his life. A mass of flowers covered Davis' closed casket. Two photos flanked it -- one a color portrait of a young boy who grew up on the streets of Savannah's Cloverdale neighborhood and the other a black and white photo of a young man in a suit attending his murder trial. Those in attendance repeatedly chanted: "I am Troy Davis," the slogan adopted in the campaign to spare his life and one that went viral on social media networks. "Look at those last two lines of your program today," said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "I am Troy Davis. And I am free." Jealous and other friends and advocates for Davis, including his lawyer, Jason Ewart, voiced Davis' last words before he was put to death by lethal injection. That he was sorry for the family of police Officer Mark MacPhail, but that he was innocent. "We're going to keep on fighting until his name is finally cleared and Georgia admits what it has done," Jealous said. "We're going to keep on fighting until the death penalty is abolished and this can never be done to anyone else." MacPhail was shot in the early morning hours of August 19, 1989, in the parking lot of a Burger King just a few miles north of the church where Davis was memorialized. Davis was tried and convicted for MacPhail's murder and sent to death row in 1991. But he and his family had always maintained that the jury convicted the wrong man. The MacPhails said they lived in agony as legal proceedings dragged on year after year. The case became controversial after several of the witnesses who testified against him at trial later said they were coerced to speak against Davis. It was battled in many courtrooms before his execution. But in the end, Davis lost all his appeals. "We are gathered here in a place of the most unjust execution of mankind," Ewart said. "Jesus was killed on the cross, not because he was guilty, but because we are. "Many have spoken of Troy as a symbol," Ewart said. "He was the soul of something profound." Ewart, a young antitrust lawyer signed onto defending Davis shortly after graduating from Emory University's law school in Atlanta. "I met him seven years ago. When I met him I was young. I was green," he said. "From the very first conversation I had with Troy I knew he could be my older brother, my friend, and eventually, he became just that." Raphael Warnock, pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, invoked the 1994 book the made Savannah famous. "It's midnight in the garden of good and evil," he said. "But I am so glad God does his best work at midnight. When the adversary has our backs against the wall, that's when God does his best work. "Strange things happen in Savannah, Georgia," he said. "This city of cobblestone streets and verdant town squares ... you have become the ground zero for the struggle to abolish the death penalty once and for all. Savannah, Georgia, the world is watching you." Davis' mother, Virginia, died in April. She was not around to see the execution of her son, an act that would have surely been wretchedly painful to bear. Davis' sisters, Martina Correia and Kimberly Davis, attended the funeral Saturday, as did Correia's son De'Jaun Davis-Correia. Davis-Correia, born prematurely, said his uncle Troy was afraid to hold him when he was first born. He weighed only 3 pounds, 8 ounces. "He thought he would break me," Davis-Correia said. But he grew into a strong young man, he said, through his uncle's guidance. He spoke of how Davis, from death row, used to help his nephew with homework, even put his tests and exams on his calendar. People tell him now that he's a little version of his uncle. And that makes Davis-Correia, the nephew of an executed man, very proud. For all his life, his uncle lived 300 miles away, behind brick walls. But, he said, "It was always like he was home with us." The funeral was open to the public, but Davis was to be buried Saturday with only his family at his graveside. And then, just before people began streaming out of the church well into Saturday afternoon, a message recorded by Davis thanked his supporters all over the world for their efforts on his behalf. "Everything we do today will clear the way for a better tomorrow," Davis said. "We can correct all the wrongs if we band together. Don't give up the fight." The voice of the dead had filled the sanctuary.

Big Boi, Killer Mike Protest Troy Davis Death Penalty [Photos + Video]

Big Boi Documents Troy Davis Execution Protest ~ September 22, 2011

PHOTOS & MORE: http://tinyurl.com/6gorwhy Antwan "Big Boi" Patton leads the protest in Jackson County, Georgia in an attempt to stop the execution of Troy Davis. Full Story: http://StraightFromTheA.com

Artist Chaz Guest paints Troy Davis

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Artist Chaz Guest is known for painting the portrait of Thurgood Marshal that hangs in President Obama's private study as well as the portrait of Obama that was used for part of his inauguration. Now he focuses his artistic talent on Troy Davis, a man on death row in Georgia. Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. Nearly two decades later, Davis remains on death row — even though the case against him has fallen apart. This film was directed by David Serota and produced by David Serota, Allison Behrstock, and Roger Wolfson. It was shot on location in the studio of Chaz Guest.

The Only Woman Electrocuted in Georgia's Electric Chair

The Only Woman Electrocuted in Georgia's Electric Chair Such is the story of Lena Baker, an African-American mother of three, who was electrocuted at the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. She was convicted for the fatal shooting of E. B. Knight, a white Cuthbert, Georgia mill operator she was hired to care for after he broke his leg. She was 44 and the only woman ever executed in Georgia’s electric chair. For Baker, a Black maid in the segregated south in the 1940’s, her story was a tough sell to a jury of 12 white men. And rumors that she was romantically involved with victim E. B. Knight did not help. Her murder trial lasted just a day, without a single witness called by her court-appointed lawyer. She was convicted and sentenced to death. John Cole Vodicka, director of an Americus-based inmate advocacy program known as the Prison and Jail Project, said Knight had kept Ms. Baker as his "virtual sex slave." She was his paramour, she was his mistress, and, among other things, his drinking partner. If you read the transcript and have any understanding of black-white relations, Black women were often subjected to the sexual whims of their white masters, their white bosses, or some white man who had control over their lives or the lives of their families. "Here is one who resisted and paid the price.” The undertaker who brought her body back to Cuthbert buried her in a grave that went unmarked for five decades, until the congregation of Mount Vernon Baptist Church raised $250 for a concrete slab and marker. Relatives are still trying to clear her name with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole. Lena Baker, who had a sixth-grade education, stated publicly her innocence to the very end. “What I done, I did in self-defense," she said in her final statement. "I have nothing against anyone. I am ready to meet my God.” A novel, The Lena Baker Story, authored by Lela Bond Phillips, chronicles her life. This book was the basis for a screenplay by actor/director Ralph Wilcox filmed in 2007 in Southwest Georgia. The film, also entitled "The Lena Baker Story," stars Tichina Arnold in the title role, Peter Coyote, Beverly Todd and Michael Rooker and is due for theatrical release in Spring 2009. 'The Lena Baker Story,' by Lela Bond Phillips

He was 14 yrs. 6mos. and 5 days old --- and the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th Century

He was 14 yrs. 6mos. and 5 days old --- and the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th Century

George Junius Stinney, Jr., [b. 1929 - d. 1944] In a South Carolina prison sixty-six years ago, guards walked a 14-year-old boy, bible tucked under his arm, to the electric chair. At 5' 1" and 95 pounds, the straps didn’t fit, and an electrode was too big for his leg. The switch was pulled and the adult sized death mask fell from George Stinney’s face. Tears streamed from his eyes. Witnesses recoiled in horror as they watched the youngest person executed in the United States in the past century die. Now, a community activist is fighting to clear Stinney’s name, saying the young boy couldn’t have killed two girls. George Frierson, a school board member and textile inspector, believes Stinney’s confession was coerced, and that his execution was just another injustice blacks suffered in Southern courtrooms in the first half of the 1900s. In a couple of cases like Stinney’s, petitions are being made before parole boards and courts are being asked to overturn decisions made when society’s thumb was weighing the scales of justice against blacks. These requests are buoyed for the first time in generations by money, college degrees and sometimes clout. “I hope we see more cases like this because it help brings a sense of closure. It’s symbolic,” said Howard University law professor Frank Wu. “It’s not just important for the individuals and their families. It’s important for the entire community. Not just for African Americans, but for whites and for our democracy as a whole. What these cases show is that it is possible to achieve justice.” Some have already achieved justice. Earlier this year, syndicated radio host Tom Joyner successfully won a posthumous pardon for two great uncles who were executed in South Carolina. A few years ago Lena Baker, a black Georgia maid sent to the electric chair for killing a white man, received a pardon after her family pointed out she likely killed the man because he was holding her against her will. In the Stinney case, supporters want the state to admit that officials executed the wrong person in June 1944. Stinney was accused of killing two white girls, 11 year old Betty June Binnicker and 8 year old Mary Emma Thames, by beating them with a railroad spike then dragging their bodies to a ditch near Acolu, about five miles from Manning in central South Carolina. The girls were found a day after they disappeared following a massive manhunt. Stinney was arrested a few hours later, white men in suits taking him away. Because of the risk of a lynching, Stinney was kept at a jail 50 miles away in Columbia. Stinney’s father, who had helped look for the girls, was fired immediately and ordered to leave his home and the sawmill where he worked. His family was told to leave town prior to the trial to avoid further retribution. An atmosphere of lynch mob hysteria hung over the courthouse. Without family visits, the 14 year old had to endure the trial and death alone. Frierson hasn’t been able to get the case out of his head since, carrying around a thick binder of old newspaper stories and documents, including an account from an execution witness. The sheriff at the time said Stinney admitted to the killings, but there is only his word — no written record of the confession has been found. A lawyer helping Frierson with the case figures threats of mob violence and not being able to see his parents rattled the seventh- grader. Attorney Steve McKenzie said he has even heard one account that says detectives offered the boy ice cream once they were done. “You’ve got to know he was going to say whatever they wanted him to say,” McKenzie said. The court appointed Stinney an attorney — a tax commissioner preparing for a Statehouse run. In all, the trial — from jury selection to a sentence of death — lasted one day. Records indicate 1,000 people crammed the courthouse. Blacks weren’t allowed inside. The defense called no witnesses and never filed an appeal. No one challenged the sheriff’s recollection of the confession. “As an attorney, it just kind of haunted me, just the way the judicial system worked to this boy’s disadvantage or disfavor. It did not protect him,” said McKenzie, who is preparing court papers to ask a judge to reopen the case. Stinney’s official court record contains less than two dozen pages, several of them arrest warrants. There is no transcript of the trial. The lack of records, while not unusual, makes it harder for people trying to get these old convictions overturned, Wu said. But these old cases also can have a common thread. “Some of these cases are so egregious, so extreme that when you look at it, the prosecution really has no case either,” Wu said. “It’s apparent from what you can see that someone was railroaded.” And sometimes, police under pressure by frightened citizens jumped to conclusions rather than conducting a thorough investigation, Wu said. Bluffton Today - 'Crusaders look to right Jim Crow justice wrongs' by Jeffrey Collins Photo: South Carolina Department of Archives and History

[video] Mother of Slain's man reaction of Troy Davis put to death in Georgia CNN

States that she can't believe it's over after 22 years. She say's it's a relief that justice has been served. She know's that Troy Davis's family is suffering now. Mother states that's the way he did it so that's the way it ended now.

[video] Mother of slain cop on execution of Troy Davis

Mother of Slain Son ask's for peace. States that she will NOT be present for Troy Davis's Execution

[video] Murder of Troy Davis - Rally for Life

The sister of Troy Davis, the Georgia man executed Wednesday night, said her brother was calm and treated his last moments with his family like any doting uncle would: he watched his 3-year-old niece's latest ballet moves. "Our last moments were joyous. My brother was giving us charge as to what he wanted us to do, telling us to hold our heads up, telling my nephew to continue to be all that he could be... My niece was showing him her ballet shoes and telling him to stand on his tippy toes like a ballerina," said Kimberly Davis from her Savannah, Ga., home. Davis' family last saw him between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday when there was still hope that his execution might be stopped. The execution was postponed briefly by the Supreme Court for a legal review, but at 11:08 p.m., Davis, 42, was dead from lethal injection. "When we left my brother yesterday, my brother told us to hold our heads up and be strong because if the state of Georgia did succeed in executing him, they would only take his physical body and not his soul," she said, crying at times. "My brother said he only wanted to be a free man and right now, he is free." Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail and sentenced to the death penalty. Members of the MacPhail family are convinced Davis was guilty, but many other observers are not Before being executed, Davis said, "I'd like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I'm not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent." Witnesses said Davis' eyes fluttered as he received his first injection and lost consciousness, and that the entire process of lethal injection lasted about 15 minutes. Following Davis' death, the Twitter and Facebook world buzzed with the lyrics of Strange Fruit, the poem sung by Billie Holiday about the lynching of black men in the South. Some felt Davis' death equated to a modern day lynching. "That's what it is--a lynch mob in the state of Georgia, Chatham County," said Kimberly Davis. "We're going to carry on and continue to fight to bring down the death penalty," she said. "This fight didn't start with him and it's not going to end with him." Davis had his execution stayed four times over the course of his 22 years on death row, but multiple legal appeals during that time failed to convince a court of his innocence. Public support grew for Davis based on the recanted testimony of seven witnesses from his trial and the possible confession of another suspect, which his defense team claimed cast too much doubt on Davis' guilt to follow through with an execution. On Wednesday, busloads of Davis supporters gathered outside the White House and outside the Georgia State Prison in Jackson. Davis' 17-year-old nephew, Anthony, helped lead a group of men from Morehouse College to the prison, Kimberly Davis said. "One college student drove in from San Francisco by herself," Ms. Davis said. "So many people said that we're part of your family, we've been fighting the cause for your brother and we'll do whatever to continue the cause." The protesters, wearing t-shirts that said "I am Troy Davis" and holding signs that said "Too Much Doubt," cheered when the execution was briefly halted and cried when it was carried out. The family of MacPhail feels that justice has been served.

[video] Rev Al Sharpton on Troy Davis

As Sharpton summarized it, there is no weapon, DNA or fingerprint evidence tying Davis to the scene of the crime. In addition, seven of the nine witnesses whose evidence was used to convict Davis have since recanted their stories. People from Desmond Tutu to Pope Benededict have called for a new trial, and Amnesty International has denounced the impending execution

[video] Troy Davis Rally Atlanta September 16 2011 | NAACP, Amnesty, National Action Network

Friday September 16, 2011, NAACP, along with Amnesty International, the National Action Network and many other allies will hosted a march and prayer vigil to stop Troy Davis's execution and move for clemency. After the march Ben Jealous, President NAAACP joined with Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Dr. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock of Ebenezer at a rally at the Ebenezer Baptist Church to continue shining a light on the appalling injustice that Troy Davis is facing. Concerned citizens came from neighboring cities and states to march for Troy Davis. The video captures the march and speech held before the prayer vigil. For more information on how to help save Troy Davis visit www.troyanthonydavis.org or www.amnestyusa.org/TroyDavis The Clippings — You just got the buzz from www.DryerBuzz.com — Combing the headlines. Transforming the way we look — at life.

[video] Judge Mathis Speaks about the execution of Troy Davis

Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Troy Davis speaks from death row

[video] Troy Davis Executed: Controversially Convicted Inmate Maintains Innocence Until The End

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO JACKSON, Ga. -- Troy Davis, convicted of murdering an off-duty Savannah police officer more than 20 years ago, held fast to his claims of innocence even as he was finally executed by lethal injection on Wednesday night. Strapped to a gurney and minutes from death, Davis stated that he had not carried a gun the night of the murder and did not shoot the officer, Mark MacPhail, in a fast food restaurant parking lot on an August night in 1989. Speaking directly to MacPhail's brother and son, who witnessed the execution, Davis beseeched them to continue to examine the events that night. "All I can ask is that you look deep into this case so you can really find the truth," he said. Davis then addressed prison officials preparing to inject him with a lethal mix of chemicals. "May God have mercy on your souls," he said. The first injection began at 10:54 p.m. and Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. Afterward, Davis' attorneys and legal advocates quickly decried the execution as a terrible miscarriage of justice. "I had the unfortunate opportunity tonight to witness a tragedy, to witness Georgia execute an innocent man," Jason Ewart, one of Davis' attorneys, said outside the prison. "The innocent have no enemy but time, and Troy's time slipped away tonight." Meanwhile, family members of the murdered officer expressed relief that the execution was over, according to the Associated Press. News of the execution quieted hundreds of protesters who had lined the highway across from the entrance to the prison for hours, chanting and singing as they faced a small army of baton-wielding prison guards in full riot gear, sheriff's deputies and state police. The crowd of protesters was quickly dispersed by police after Davis' death was announced. Local observers called the protests the largest at the state's death row in many years. "I've never seen anything like this," said Don Earnhart, manager of a Jackson, Ga., radio station, who said he has covered executions for several decades. Protests were also seen at the state capital, Atlanta, in Washington, D.C. and at the U.S. embassy in London. The execution was delayed for more than four hours by a last-minute petition to the U.S. Supreme Court by Davis' legal team. The justices denied the petition without comment or dissent. Davis' death ends an extraordinary legal saga that included three last-minute stays of execution and dozens of hearings before state and federal appellate courts. Over two decades, his legal team argued that a lack of physical evidence linking Davis to the crime and recantations by a number of critical eyewitnesses who originally implicated him in the shooting were reason enough for the Georgia courts to grant him a new trial. But state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, repeatedly ruled against his appeals for a new trial and he was ultimately executed on the basis of the original jury verdict. On Tuesday, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, which has sole authority to commute a death sentence in the state, rejected Davis' plea for clemency, essentially sealing his fate. MacPhail's family members had repeatedly stated their certainty that Davis was guilty of the crime and consistently fought his efforts to obtain clemency. Earlier this week, the state's pardons board was bombarded by hundreds of thousands of petitions to spare Davis' life, including ones from William S. Sessions, a former FBI director, and Bob Barr, a four-term Republican congressman from Georgia and death penalty supporter. Many of those opposed to the execution noted the lack of physical evidence tying Davis to the crime and the recantation of eyewitness, many of whom told attorneys for Davis that they had been pressured by police to testify that Davis was the shooter. "Imposing an irreversible sentence of death on the skimpiest of evidence will not serve the interest of justice," Barr wrote in an editorial on the case last Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, Davis offered to submit to a lie detector test, but the request was denied by prison officials. As the hours until the execution dwindled, calls for clemency continued from around the nation and the world, including from a group of former death row wardens, who wrote to Georgia authorities calling on them to halt the death sentence due to doubts about Davis' guilt. Among the group was the former warden in charge of the Georgia death chamber. "While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end," the wardens wrote. "It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner." Meanwhile, the family of the murdered policeman, Mark MacPhail, and the case's original prosecutor have argued strenuously for Davis' execution, and have asserted that there is no doubt that he is guilty of the murder. Joan MacPhail-Harris, the officer's widow, said this week that Davis "has had ample time to prove his innocence" and failed to do so, according to the Associated Press. She, along with MacPhail's children, urged the pardon's board to deny Davis' petition for clemency this week. An extraordinary hearing last year ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court gave Davis the rare opportunity to present evidence of his innocence as part of a petition for a new trial. The judge overseeing the hearing ruled that the state's case against Davis "may not be ironclad" and agreed that Davis had raised some doubts about his conviction. However, the judge concluded that Davis had not provided the court with compelling evidence of his innocence and denied his request for a retrial. Supporters of Davis said the unwillingness of the U.S. justice system to reconsider his death sentence in light of the witness recantations and other new evidence exposed fundamental problems in the justice system. "Troy Davis has become an incredible symbol of everything that is broken, everything that is wrong" with the capital punishment in the U.S., said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International's U.S. branch, in an interview on the prison grounds. Jason Ewart, Davis attorney, said he hoped Davis death would lead to systematic reform. "This case struck a chord in the world, and as a result the legacy of Troy Davis doesn't die tonight," Ewart said, standing beside Davis' family members outside Georgia's death row. "Our sadness, the sadness of his friends and his family, is tempered by the hope that Troy's death will lead to fundamental legal reforms," he said, "so we will never again witness, with inevitable regret, the execution of an innocent man as we did here tonight." John Rudolf
John Rudolfjohn.rudolf@huffingtonpost.com

[video] Troy Davis' Sister, Martina Correia, Vows To Carry On Fight Against Death Penalty

By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The older sister of Troy Davis says she's not angry following his execution in Georgia, but she's determined to keep fighting the death penalty in her brother's memory. Martina Correia (KHOR-ray-yuh) of Savannah told The Associated Press on Friday she's proud of the way her brother used his last words to stand by his claims of innocence Wednesday before being put to death by injection. Davis had long insisted his conviction for the 1989 slaying of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail was a case of mistaken identity. Correia says her family is grieving but holding up better than many of Davis' thousands of supporters who were outraged by his execution. She says she's glad their mother, who died in April, did not live to see Davis put to death.

[video] Race Matters??: Georgia Didn’t Spare Troy Davis’ Life, But Check Out What They Did For Samuel David Crowe A Few Yrs Back… And He Confessed!

Posted on September 23rd, 2011 - By Bossip Staff They cannot be serious… The parole board in the state of Georgia spared a convicted killer from execution hours before he was due to die by lethal injection on Thursday and commuted his sentence to life in prison. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles made its decision less than three hours before Samuel David Crowe, 47, was to be executed, according to a spokeswoman for the state’s prisons. “After careful and exhaustive consideration of the requests, the board voted to grant clemency. The board voted to commute the sentence to life without parole,” the parole board said. What? Requests?? What about all of the requests they got to re-consider Troy Davis’ case? There’s got to be something else to it. Crowe’s death would have marked the third execution since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty last month. Crowe was not present at the parole board hearing in Atlanta. He had already eaten his last meal and was preparing to enter the execution chamber at the prison in Jackson, Georgia, Mallie McCord of the Georgia Department of Corrections said. In March 1988, Crowe killed store manager Joseph Pala during a robbery at the lumber company in Douglas County, west of Atlanta. Crowe, who had previously worked at the store, shot Pala three times with a pistol, beat him with a crowbar and a pot of paint. Crowe pleaded guilty to armed robbery and murder and was sentenced to death the following year. “David (Crowe) takes full responsibility for his crime and experiences profound remorse,” according to Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, an advocacy group, who welcomed the board’s decision. At Thursday’s hearing, his lawyers presented a dossier of evidence attesting to his remorse and good behavior in jail, according to local media reports. The lawyers also said he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms from a cocaine addiction at the time of the crime. Wait, what??? So, the guy who confesses gets commuted to a life sentence. But the guy who says he’s innocent gets put to death? What part of the game is this?
SOURCE

Troy Davis executed in Georgia

(AP Photo/CBS News) (CBS/AP) JACKSON, Ga. - Defiant until the end, Troy Davis was executed Wednesday night for the murder of an off-duty police officer. He convinced hundreds of thousands of people around the world, but not a single court, that he was innocent. As he lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, the 42-year-old told relatives of Mark MacPhail that he was not responsible for his 1989 slaying. "I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun," he insisted. "All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth," he said. Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. The lethal injection began about 15 minutes earlier, after the Supreme Court rejected an 11th-hour request for a stay. "Justice has been served for Officer Mark MacPhail and his family," state Attorney General Sam Olens said in a statement. The high court did not comment on its order, which came about four hours after it received the request and more than three hours after the planned execution time. U.S. executions, by the numbers Polygraph for Troy Davis blocked, attorney says Troy Davis clemency bid denied on execution eve Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf, and prominent supporters included an ex-president and an ex-FBI director, liberals and conservatives. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed all or parts of their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him -- three times on Wednesday alone. Davis asked his friends and family to "continue to fight this fight." Of prison officials he said, "May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls." MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said there was "nothing to rejoice," but that it was "a time for healing for all families." "I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and our hurt," she said in a telephone interview from Jackson. "My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them." Davis' supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge's phone number online, hoping people will press him to put a stop to the lethal injection. President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved. "They say death row; we say hell no!" protesters shouted outside the Jackson prison before Davis was executed. In Washington, a crowd outside the Supreme Court yelled the same chant.

A Georgia State Patrol trooper watches over demonstrators calling for Georgia state officials to halt the scheduled execution of convicted cop killer Troy Davis at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia, on Wednesday, September 21, 2011. (Credit: Getty Images) As many as 700 demonstrators gathered outside the prison as a few dozen riot police stood watch, but the crowd thinned as the night wore on and the outcome became clear. The scene turned eerily quiet as word of the high court's decision spread, with demonstrators hugging, crying, praying, holding candles and gathering around Davis' family. Laura Moye of Amnesty International said the execution was "the best argument for abolishing the death penalty." "The state of Georgia is about to demonstrate why government can't be trusted with the power over life and death," she said before Davis was put to death. About 10 counterdemonstrators also were outside the prison, showing support for the death penalty and MacPhail's family. Members of Davis' family who witnessed the execution left without talking to reporters. MacPhail's son and brother also attended. "I'm kind of numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said in a telephone interview from her home in Columbus, Ga. "All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace." Of Davis' claims of innocence, she said, "He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything." Davis' execution had been stopped three times since 2007, but on Wednesday he ran out of legal options. The pardons board rejected him, and Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency. As his last hours ticked away, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters. "Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister Martina Correia said at a news conference. "They say, `I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak." His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would have spent part of Wednesday taking a polygraph test if pardons officials had taken his offer seriously. "He doesn't want to spend three hours away from his family on what could be the last day of his life if it won't make any difference," Marsh said. Davis' supporters include former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the NAACP, several conservative figures and many celebrities, including hip-hop star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. "I'm trying to bring the word to the young people: There is too much doubt," rapper Big Boi, of the Atlanta-based group Outkast, said at a church near the prison. At a Paris rally, many of the roughly 150 demonstrators carried signs emblazoned with Davis' face. "Everyone who looks a little bit at the case knows that there is too much doubt to execute him," Nicolas Krameyer of Amnesty International said at the protest. The U.S. Supreme Court gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year, though the high court itself did not hear the merits of the case.

Troy Anthony Davis enters a courtroom for a hearing Jan. 16, 1991, during his trial for the shooting death of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. (Credit: AP Photo) He was convicted in 1991 of killing MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time. MacPhail rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. Prosecutors said Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah. No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted. Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but several of them have recanted their accounts and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer. "Such incredibly flawed eyewitness testimony should never be the basis for an execution," Marsh said. "To execute someone under these circumstances would be unconscionable." State and federal courts, however, have repeatedly upheld Davis' conviction. One federal judge dismissed the evidence advanced by Davis' lawyers as "largely smoke and mirrors." "He has had ample time to prove his innocence," MacPhail-Harris said. "And he is not innocent." The last motion filed by Davis' attorneys in Butts County Court challenged testimony from two witnesses and disputed testimony from the expert who linked the shell casings to the earlier shooting involving Davis. Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson and the Georgia Supreme Court rejected the appeal, and prosecutors said the filing was just a delay tactic. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which helped lead the charge to stop the execution, said it considered asking Obama to intervene, even though he cannot grant Davis clemency for a state conviction. Press secretary Jay Carney issued a statement saying that although Obama "has worked to ensure accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system," it was not appropriate for him "to weigh in on specific cases like this one, which is a state prosecution." Dozens of protesters outside the White House called on the president to step in, and about 12 were arrested for disobeying police orders. Davis was not the only U.S. inmate put to death Wednesday evening. In Texas, white supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death for the 1998 dragging death of a black man, James Byrd Jr., one of the most notorious hate crime murders in recent U.S. history. Davis' best chance may have come last year, in a hearing ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was the first time in 50 years that justices had considered a request to grant a new trial for a death row inmate. The high court set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence -- a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing judge ruled in prosecutors' favor, the justices didn't take up the case.

[video] Innocence Matters: Meet Troy Davis

Interview with Troy's sister Martina Correia explaining the Life of Troy Davis

[video] Martina Correia: Sister of Death Row Prisoner Troy Davis is "Appalled" By U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

DemocracyNow.org - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of well-known Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis, likely setting the stage for Georgia to schedule his execution. Davis was convicted in 1989 of killing an off-duty white police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine non-police witnesses who fingered Davis have recanted their testimony. No physical evidence ties Davis to the crime scene. With his legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate rests largely in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Parole, which could commute his death sentence and spare his life. Democracy Now! interviews Troy Davis' sister, Martina Correia. "No one wants to look at the actual innocence, and no one wants to look at the witness recantation as a real strong and viable part of this case," Correia says. "I think there needs to be a global mobilization about Troy's case." For the video/audio podcast, transcript and to sign up for the daily news digest, visit http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/29/shocked_and_appalled_sister_of_death For additional interviews about Troy Davis' case from the last several years, see the Democracy Now! news archive: http://www.democracynow.org/tags/troy_davis FOLLOW US: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: @democracynow Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today, visit http://www.democracynow.org/donate/YT

[video]Virginia Davis, Mother of Troy Davis

http://iamtroy.com/ is the home of the NAACP's campaign to save the life of Troy Davis. Davis has been on death row in Georgia since 1991, but there is overwhelming evidence of his innocence that has never been heard in court.

[video] Trailer: Examining the Troy Davis Case

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. With all legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate will be in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once his execution date is scheduled, they will be presented with the option of permanently preventing his execution.

[video] Troy Davis Case: Part One

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. Part One "The Investigation" gives a thorough explanation of the case as well as the many problems with how the crime was investigated. With all legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate will be in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once his execution date is scheduled, they will be presented with the option of permanently preventing his execution.

[video] Troy Davis Case: Part Two

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. Part Two "A Case Unraveled" examines how the evidence in his case has completely fallen apart. With all legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate will be in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once his execution date is scheduled, they will be presented with the option of permanently preventing his execution.

[video] Troy Davis Case: Part Three

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. Part Three "Proving Innocence" examines how the legal system makes it extraordinarily difficult to prove one's innocence. With all legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate will be in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once his execution date is scheduled, they will be presented with the option of permanently preventing his execution.

[video] Troy Davis Case: Part Four

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. Part Four "Clemency" explains what clemency is and why it is appropriate for Davis' case. With all legal appeals exhausted, Davis' fate will be in the hands of Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Once his execution date is scheduled, they will be presented with the option of permanently preventing his execution.

[video] Extra: More on the Troy Davis Case

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Why is Amnesty International interested in the Troy Davis case? Troy Davis is at risk of execution as early as September 2011, even though grave doubts about his guilt remain. This video tells the deeper story of Troy Davis through the lens of human rights and death penalty abolition.

[video] The Troy Davis Case: An Animation

http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy Troy Davis is at risk for being executed in early September 2011. Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will be holding a final clemency hearing, in which Davis' fate will be in their decision.

[video] The Back Story on Troy Davis

Author and human rights activist Jen Marlowe explains why death row inmate Troy Davis, whose execution date could be set any day, should go free.

[video] Troy Davis recap of crime by Martina Davis-Correia

Troy Davis is on Georgia's death row for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail, despite a strong case of innocence. A new execution date might be set at any time. [video] Troy Davis recap of murder by Martina Davis-correia www.JusticeForTroy.org for more details

[video] CLEMENCY DENIED FOR TROY DAVIS!

September 20, 2011 CNN http://MOXNews.com

Read Troy's Last Words

Read Troy's Last Words Tonight the State of Georgia has killed an innocent man. In recent weeks, we fought hard for the commutation of Troy Davis' sentence. More than one million of your petitions were delivered. Protests, rallies and vigils were organized around the globe. Tonight, we fasted and prayed together as a community. I have spent the past week with Troy's family. He wanted the world to know that he understood that this struggle goes beyond just one man. Troy was prepared to die tonight. As he said again and again, the state of Georgia only held the power to take his physical body. They could not take his spirit, because he gave his life to God. Let's remember and heed Troy's words: We must not let them kill our spirit, either. Troy's execution, the exceptional unfairness of it, will only hasten the end of the death penalty in the United States. The world will remember the name of Troy Anthony Davis. In death he will live on as a symbol of a broken justice system that kills an innocent man while a murderer walks free. The world will remember Troy's name, as the death penalty supporters who expressed doubt in this case begin to doubt an entire system that can execute a man amidst so many unanswered questions. The world will remember Troy's name, as death penalty opponents who remained silent in the past realize that their silence is no longer an option. The world will remember Troy's name because we will commemorate September 21st each year as both a solemn anniversary and a call to action. The night they put Troy Davis to death will become an annual reminder that justice will not be achieved until we end this brutal practice of capital punishment. "This movement," Troy said, "started before I was born." After tonight, our movement will grow stronger until we succeed in destroying the death penalty in the United States once and for all. I know you will join me. Together we will secure his legacy, and the world will remember the name Troy Anthony Davis. In solidarity, Ben Jealous NAACP.org Posted on September 21, 2011 by Eric Wingerter, Director of New Media

I Am Troy Davis by James Clark

Before I moved back to my hometown to work for the repeal of California's death penalty, I spent a few years living in Atlanta, Georgia -- home to Coca Cola, Cartoon Network, and a criminal justice system intent on executing a man who may well be innocent. I've never met him, but Troy Anthony Davis, on Georgia's death row since 1991 despite grave doubts concerning his guilt, is the reason I left the work I was pursuing in graduate school and devoted myself to working against the death penalty. I remember the exact moment. In September 2008, I got a call from a classmate who knew I had been involved in human rights activism in the past. He asked if I'd ever heard of Troy Davis, and I confessed that I hadn't. He told me he was scheduled to be executed in a few days and asked me to research the case and let him know if I wanted to get involved. When I got home, I Googled the name -- I invite you to do the same. I learned that Troy, a young African American man, was convicted in Savannah in 1989 of killing a white police officer named Mark Allen McPhail. I learned that no physical evidence connected him to the crime, but that nine eyewitnesses had testified against him at trial. Then I learned that seven of them altered or recanted their testimony, many alleging pressure and coercion from police officers to identify Troy as the man who killed their fellow officer. And I learned that one of the remaining witnesses had been implicated as the real killer -- the one who had originally implicated Troy. Like many people who are confronted with the facts of the case, I was originally skeptical. I wondered how such seemingly glaring problems could have gone unaddressed and thought I must be missing another piece. I investigated further, even reading the arguments of the prosecutor who secured Troy's death sentence, but even there I found no missing piece that might explain away my doubts of Troy's guilt. Spencer Lawton, the former Savannah District Attorney, finally broke his public silence on the case when he thought the appeals process was over, publishing in the Savannah Morning News his response to the claims made by Troy and his global movement of supporters. It was unconvincing. At its root, this case comes down to the credibility of witnesses, because nothing else can give us any clues as to who committed the horrible crime that took the life of Officer McPhail. The problem is that neither side believes the witnesses. With seven recantations, most of the witnesses were either lying then or are lying now. The state of Georgia has consistently maintained that their credibility 20 years ago cannot be impugned, but that their allegations now of being pressured by police have no credibility at all. Troy's execution date that September came, and I marched with activists in Atlanta that morning. The day before, I was nearly arrested trying to deliver a letter to the Attorney General concerning the case (apparently not having an appointment meant I was trespassing). I drove down to Jackson for the execution, where death row is located, and on the way we got a call that the Supreme Court has issued an emergency stay of execution. That was Troy's second execution date. He's had one more since, but remains alive on death row. His final appeals have now been denied and a fourth execution date is expected soon. I've since learned a lot more about the justice system and the death penalty, but it's still hard for me to wrap my mind around how this could happen. In Troy's most recent appeal, the judge who ordered to hear the recanting witnesses for himself ruled that even though the case "may not be ironclad" and there is "minimal doubt," Troy had not proven his innocence by "clear and convincing evidence." That's what I've learned about the death penalty: life and death tread the gap between phrases like "minimal doubt" and "clear and convincing." Thousands of people around the world have lent their voices to the movement to save Troy Davis' life and demand that the state never executes where doubt exists. Marching with the mantra "I Am Troy Davis," these activists and advocates know that when justice is denied to one, when one innocent person can be killed by the state, then justice is denied to all and we are all Troy Davis. Visit Amnesty International to learn how you can join the growing global movement and tell the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to stay true to their mission and refuse to take a possibly innocent life. Image credit: Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty (GFADP) Follow James Clark on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lebowskigrande James Clark

[AUDIO] Troy Davis speaks from death row

Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

[video] Innocent Man Executed?

Troy Davis maintains his claim of innocence days before his scheduled execution by the state of Georgia.

[audio/video] Troy Davis makes final plea before death!!

Attorneys for Death Row Prisoner Troy Davis to Make Final Plea Before Georgia Parole Board Attorneys for death row prisoner Troy Davis are heading to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today to ask the state body to commute his death sentence. Davis is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 23. Last year, the board granted Davis a temporary reprieve less than twenty-four hours before his scheduled execution, after numerous questions were raised about his case. We speak with his sister, Martina Correia. [includes rush transcript]

[video] Evidentiary Hearing for Troy Anthony Davis

A timeline of the Troy Anthony Davis case and a look at what's to come at the evidentiary hearing on June 23, 2010 at the Tomochichi U.S. Courthouse in Savannah. VIDEO COURTESY: WTOC, WJCL-FOX28. Some pictures: Savannah Morning News Savannahnow.com

[video] TROY ANTHONY DAVIS INTERVIEW

Troy Anthony Davis on death row for over 19 years talks to Kavita Chhibber. To hear the complete interview go to http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=troy_davis_podcast

[video] Troy Davis Execution Day (execution)

p>Rev Al.Sharpton & National Action Network hold a vigil outside of the prison as Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed. Sep 25, 2008

[video] Judge Mathis Weighs in on the execution of Troy Davis

Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Troy Davis speaks from death row

[video] Troy Davis executed - "He maintained his innocence to the end ."

Troy Davis was put to death by lethal injection late Wednesday for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer, maintaining his innocence until the end after convincing thousands of it, but not the justice system Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. EDT, a prison official said. His execution, which began at 10:53 p.m., came after a three-hour hold while the Supreme Court considered a late request for a stay. In the end the court refused to stop the execution, despite calls for clemency from former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and others. Davis' attorneys say seven of nine key witnesses against him recanted all or parts of their testimony, state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against granting him a new trial. Media witnesses said that on his death bed, Davis told the family of the slain officer, Mark MacPhail, that he was very sorry for their loss but that he wasn't responsible for his death. "It's not my fault; I did not have a gun," he said while strapped to a gurney, according to witness Rhonda Cook of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I did not personally kill your son, father, brother," he said. He asked his family and supporters to "dig deeper" into the case after his death "so you can find the real truth." "For those about to take my life," he told prison officials, "may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls."

This is a short, 10 minute documentary outlining the events that occur on execution day for those sentenced with the death penalty. It was filmed in Raleigh, North Carolina by Scott Langley. With the death penalty now being sought in the Casey Anthony case, and was used in the Death of Troy Davis we thought you might find this interesting. A doctor at the state prison walks viewers through the routine of preparing for and carrying out an execution from begining to end. We don't feel this documentary is particularly disturbing visually; however, if you find the subject matter uncomfortable it is recommended you don't watch this video.

[video] Barack Obama on the Death Penalty

Get more information www.famousobama.com

[video] What Happens on Execution Day? A Death Penalty Documentary

This is a short, 10 minute documentary outlining the events that occur on execution day for those sentenced with the death penalty. It was filmed in Raleigh, North Carolina by Scott Langley. With the death penalty now being sought in the Casey Anthony case, and was used in the Death of Troy Davis we thought you might find this interesting. A doctor at the state prison walks viewers through the routine of preparing for and carrying out an execution from begining to end. We don't feel this documentary is particularly disturbing visually; however, if you find the subject matter uncomfortable it is recommended you don't watch this video.

[video] Troy Davis execution: Race vs rights on 'scales of injustice'

A U.S. death row inmate has been executed by lethal injection in the state of Georgia for the 1989 shooting of an off-duty policeman. Prosecutors maintained they were sure he was guilty. However, the weapon was never discovered and DNA tests failed to link him to the killing. Davis' supporters say capital punishment just isn't dealt fairly in the U.S.