The Fight for the Life of Troy Davis
Executed by the State of Georgia 11:08 PM Sept 21, 2011
REST IN PEACE
Saturday, October 1, 2011
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.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Big Boi, Killer Mike Protest Troy Davis Death Penalty [Photos + Video]
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.
Monday, September 26, 2011
[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] 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.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
[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
John Rudolfjohn.rudolf@huffingtonpost.com
Troy Davis executed in Georgia
[video] Innocence Matters: Meet 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
[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







