NAACP Fights for Life of Troy Davis as Georgia Sets Execution Date

By Hazel Trice Edney

troydavis

Troy Davis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Despite significant doubt that he committed the crime, Troy Davis, convicted in the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail, is set to be executed by the state of Georgia on Sept. 21.

The NAACP, which has fought long for a new trial in the Davis case, has escalated the campaign to save his life.

“This is our justice system at its very worst, and we are alive to witness it. There is just too much doubt,” said NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, in a statement. “Time is running out, and this is truly Troy’s last chance for life.”

Here is the situation as outlined by the NAACP:

  • Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted their statements.
  • Several more have come forward to identify one of the two remaining witnesses as the actual killer.
  • Earlier this summer, the judge in his final hearing labeled the case against Troy as “not ironclad.”

Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail was gunned down on Aug. 19, 1989 while he worked as a part-time security guard. Several of the people who recanted their testimonies cited police pressure to fabricate statements. To date, there is no physical evidence connecting Mr. Davis to the crime, says the National Coalition for the Abolishment of the Death Penalty.

Still, the state of Georgia is set to execute Davis in just days. A hearing by the Board of Pardons and Parole is set for Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. There, Davis’ life could be spared.

Calling the public ‘Troy’s only hope,” Jealous offered four ways that people can help:

1. Send a letter of support to Troy Davis, which can be posted at to action.naacp.org/letters of support.

2. Sign the petition to the board of pardons at action.naacp.org/name-Wall.

3. And spread the word on Facebook and Twitter so that his story will spread.

4. Urge others to take action in the case.

Jealous is appealing for a nationwide movement to save Davis’ life. Georgia grassroots activists are especially mobilized:

“I feel strongly that Troy’s execution on the twenty-first of this month should be given a stay and that he should be given an opportunity to have a second trial or granted clemency,” says David Williams, president of the Albany-Dougherty NAACP.

Williams said members of the community are moving strongly in support of the life-saving mission, including prayer services by pastors and several rallies, which have been scheduled by the Georgia State NAACP Conference.

Citing the passion behind the case, Williams said the Pastor of one Albany Church, Rev. James Bush of Pine Chapel, stopped their regular service on Sunday for an impromptu five-minute prayer service for Davis asking for mercy “from the Lord to prevail in this case and for justice to be served and not execute an innocent person.”

This moment comes after a number of twists and turns in the case. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that an evidentiary hearing be held to examine the recantations by the trial witnesses. But, the conviction was upheld late last year by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Some of the activities on the calendar of events include the following:

  • Wednesday, September 14: Student Teach-In at College Campuses across state, including 7:00 pm Savannah State University.
  • Thursday, September 15: Petition Delivery to the Board of Pardons and Parole 10:30 am, Atlanta.
  • Friday, September 16: Savannah Solidarity Bus Send Off at 12 noon, Jackson Square, Bay Street, Savannah.
  • Friday, September 16: Also March and Prayer Service, 6:00 pm Woodruff Park; 7:00 pm Ebenezer Baptist Church 407 Auburn Avenue Northeast in Atlanta.
  • Saturday, September 17: Unity Prayer Service, St. Phillips Monumental AME Church, 1112 Jefferson Street, Savannah.
  • Sunday, September 18: Local church leafleting across the state.
  • Monday, September 19: Board of Pardons and Parole Hearing, Atlanta.

Among other the leading organizations involved in the campaign for justice for Troy Davis are Amnesty International USA,  People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and the National Coalition for the Abolishment of the Death Penalty.

The execution is set for Wednesday, September 21, at 6 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga., where Davis has been incarcerated since his conviction in 1991.

“After reviewing the evidence, I am convinced that Troy Davis is an innocent man,” Jealous says in a release. “It is appalling to me that with so much doubt surrounding this case, Mr. Davis is set to be executed…Justice will never be served by the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent man.”