Saturday, May 17, 200810am-12pm
Georgia Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia
(front steps facing Washington St.)
Emcee: Warren Ballentine; Lead organizers: Amnesty International and NAACP
Spread the word! Come out and show your support!
Latest: Georgia Supreme Court denies reconsideration of the denied appeal for new trial (4/14/2008)
The Current, Harrowing Timeline:
The "motion for reconsideration" with the Georgia Supreme Court in the hopes that they would change their decision and grant either an evidentiary hearing or new trial was denied on 4/14/2008. Other legal avenues are being considered; howvever, Troy's main line of appeals have been exhausted. Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled on the Baze v. Rees lethal injection case out of Kentucky, executions are starting to be scheduled across the country. It is possible that a date could be set against Troy this summer unless a legal appeal to the US Supreme Court is filed, which could lead to a fall date. We are on high alert in Georgia. Other prisoners are likely to get dates set before Troy. We must act with urgency as an execution date is likely this year. It is possible that it would be not be as soon, but we must act quickly in case we do not have much time. Once the Superior Court in Chatham County issues an execution warrant, the Department of Corrections will set the execution date. Then the Parole Board will be in a position to hold a clemency hearing, which it does not do when there is no execution date. Usually, the Board holds the hearing the day before the execution date. Last summer, Troy came within 23 hours of being executed before the Board issued a stay of execution. He had already been asked to request his last meal and put on death watch.
Focus of the Troy Davis Campaign: Appeal to the parole board to prevent the execution by granting a stay and commuting the death sentence to life (which is what is in their power). This would keep alive the possibility of a new trial request. Currently, the courts have failed Troy and we have little hope that the judicial branch will stop the madness.
Case Background:
Troy Davis was sent to Georgia’s death row in 1991 for the murder of Mark Allen MacPhail, a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia in 1989.
The conviction was not based on any physical evidence
The murder weapon was never found. The prosecution relied on witness testimony.
7 out of 9 witnesses have recanted or contradicted their story
Many alleged coercion by the police.
Find more about his case and the link to the PETITION for Troy Davis here.
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