Vol. 73/No. 20      May 25, 2009

Davis was arrested in 1989 and convicted in 1991 for the killing of a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia. At the time, he was 20 years old.

Davis maintains that he is innocent. The prosecution’s argument rests solely on witness testimony as no physical evidence has been presented. Nine people claimed they were witness to the 1989 murder and implicated Davis at the time of the trial. However, seven of the nine have since recanted or contradicted their statements and several have signed affidavits stating that they were pressured or coerced by police to testify against Davis.

On October 24, three days before Davis was scheduled to be executed, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Davis a stay of execution to consider a new appeal. On April 16 the court denied that appeal, saying he had come forward with the issues and new evidence too late. They granted him a 30-day stay of execution so that he could apply for appeal to the Supreme Court.

Dissenting from the April 16 decision, Judge Rosemary Barkett wrote, “The concept of punishing an innocent defendant with the penalty of death simply because he did not file his papers as early as he should have is draconian.” To do so in the face of a significant amount of evidence that may establish his actual innocence, she said, is “unconscionable and unconstitutional.”

The May 19 international day of action will include activities in over 30 states across the United States, as well as several cities in Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Davis’s sister Martina Correia told the Militant, “We are asking people to write to Attorney General Eric Holder and to [President] Obama, asking them to repeal the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.” That act from the Clinton administration limits the number of appeals death row prisoners can make and serves as the basis for the court’s denial of Davis’s appeal.

Gabrielle Canon, a senior at the University of Southern California and an organizer for a march and vigil in Los Angeles, told the Militant, “The fact that he has been denied appeal so many times at different levels when they don’t even have any physical evidence against him is ridiculous… . The more people know about this case, the more they’ll want to do something about it.”

“The facts in this case are profound,” Thenjiwe McHarris of Amnesty International in New York told the Militant. “It really shows the racial injustice within the criminal justice system.” McHarris, who is helping organize a demonstration in New York’s Union Square on the 19th, urged groups and individuals who oppose the death penalty or support Davis’s case to participate in a local action or reach out in their own way. (See SWP campaign statement on this page.)

In Atlanta, there will be a rally organized by the NAACP and Amnesty International on the Capitol steps. In Washington an interfaith service will be held at All Souls Unitarian Church. In Chicago activities will be held at Federal Plaza and outside the Student Center on the DePaul campus.

A list of activities can be found at: www.amnestyusa.org.
 
 
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Atlanta socialist candidates demand: Free Troy Davis!  
 
 
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