Troy Davis is almost certainly innocent, but he is still scheduled to be executed at 7pm EST today (midnight UK time). There is no physical evidence against him – he was convicted of murder purely on the testimony of witnesses, seven of whom have since recanted their testimony. Several said they were coerced by police into testifying. Nine people have signed affidavits implicating another man for the killing. Still, Troy Davis will die tonight.
Please take action by emailing the Georgia parole board. They’ve already denied an appeal for clemency, but there’s still a chance. Troy Davis has come within 90 minutes of execution before, only to have the decision reversed. Please take a minute to send the email. It may seem pointless, but I’ve been involved with Amnesty International since I was a teenager and have seen many people in apparently hopeless situations get freed. Parole board officers are human beings and have a sense of shame, and we must shame them into changing their minds.
Please send the email and, if you can, blog about it, tweet, Facebook, or even call somebody. I don’t normally use this blog to write about things like this but it’s really urgent. This is so wrong, and I feel so strongly about it I’m almost crying as I write this. Thank you.
There are 7 comments
I sent an e-mail. This is so sad.
Hi Caroline, thanks for doing that! Yes, it is very sad – I can’t stop reading about it today. The Guardian just posted an article, 10 reasons why Troy Davis should not be executed. https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/21/troy-davis-10-reasons?newsfeed=true
I’m against the death penalty. There is absolutely no need for it. There is no justification for killing anyone whether it’s an individual committing murder or the state in some misguided attempt at justice.
Oh. I woke up to the news item that said he’d been executed. I wish I’d seen this earlier. What a dreadful miscarriage of justice.
Hi all, thanks for the comments. It is just very wrong. I went to a vigil on Wednesday night outside the US embassy and at midnight we all went silent when we thought he was being killed, then started cheering and hugging each other as word came through that it had been delayed. Went to bed thinking he was safe, feeling wonderful and optimistic about the effect of popular action, and then woke up the next morning to see they’d killed him after all. There’s a lot of ugliness in the world. Like Kinna, I am against the death penalty in any case whatsoever, but it seems particuarly egregious in one like this, where the evidence suggests he was innocent.
I am sorry for commenting late, Andrew. What happened is really sad, especially when the evidence in the case was circumstantial. It is always sad when the death penalty is implemented, because it doesn’t offer any chance for the perpetrator of the crime to change and reform.
Thanks Vishy! No worries, it was all quite last-minute. You’re right about the change and reform. It seems to be more about revenge, and it’s even more tragic when that revenge is misplaced.