A Stay of Execution – from Guest Blogger Brian James
The First Essential Scary Truth
On October 15, I posted a blog entitled Asleep at the Wheel. In this blog, I argued the powers that be were eroding our right to file Habeas Corpus petitions using the death penalty as a convenient vehicle. I specifically sited the current case of Troy Davis on death row in Georgia for killing a police officer. Seven of the nine eyewitnesses who testified against Davis have since recanted their sworn statements and yet the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear his case.
On October 24, a stay was issued, how long it will last, no one knows. This guest blog is from my editor Brian James on his blog The Rone Break.
I don’t endorse Amnesty International on most of their causes but this one, they got right.
ACT NOW: Help Amnesty International free Troy Davis
September 27, 2008 by Brian James (Edit)
Amnesty International/Music for Human Rights is seeking YOUR help in spreading information regarding the controversial Troy Davis case. Recording artists such as Santogold, have taken an active role in a last minute effort to save Davis’s life. A final decision will be made on Sept. 29th regarding his death penalty sentence. Please review the case below and act now!
Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1991 at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state’s non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony.
Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits .. that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.
One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester “Red” Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.
The US Supreme Court stayed the execution for Troy, originally scheduled for September 23rd, until MONDAY SEPTEMBER 29th. The court will decide on Monday whether or not to hear the appeal. We are urging people to send letters to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Here is the link to send the letter: Free Troy Davis
Amnesty International has campaigned intensively for clemency for Davis, collecting well over 200,000 petition signatures and letters from across the United States and around the world. To date, internationally known figures such as Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have all joined the call for clemency, as well as lawmakers from within and outside of Georgia.
There are only three days left. Spread this around. Make it count.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org
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