Georgia's Rough Justice
In nine days Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed. The State of Georgia is planning to kill Davis despite the fact that seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted, saying their earlier testimony was coerced. The NAACP, National Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Amnesty International are mounting an international campaign to save Troy Davis. Amnesty International’s Laura Moye calls the case “emblematic of a broken and unjust death penalty system.” Davis is an African American charged with the murder of a white police officer.
The evidence against Davis is incredibly weak, it is unlikely that without the twin engines of race and the sensational nature of the crime, that Davis would have been charged at all. There is no physical evidence linking him to the crime. Several of the witnesses in the original trial were minors at the time and were questioned without their parents being present; another was illiterate and several had criminal records. One of the seven witnesses who has recanted has said another witness, is the real killer.
Troy Davis’ best hope is a public outcry to save his life. It only takes a few minutes to add your voice.
There are active online petition campaigns from Color of Change www.justicefortroy.org, and Twitter and Facebook campaigns from the NAACP http://www.naacp.org/blog/entry/breaking-news-judge-sets-troy-davis-execution-date-for-sep.-21 and the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty http://www.ncadp.org/#Troy_Front_Page
Read more of the Amnesty International Laura Moye interview here: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/deathpenalty/troy-davis-appeal-denied-execution-date-could-loom/
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