Fresh Loaf

Three times over the past two years, Troy Davis has come within 24 hours of his scheduled execution, only to be spared by an eleventh-hour stay.

Now, with another execution date all but certain, the longtime death row inmate has filed what very well could be his last appeal — and a rally tonight on the Capitol steps will attempt to bring even more awareness to Davis’ high-profile innocence claims.

Seven of the nine trial witnesses who took the stand against Davis in 1991 have since recanted their testimony, many of them alleging intimidation by Savannah police officers who were investigating the murder of one of their own. Officer Mark MacPhail, who’d been working off-duty as a security guard when he came to the aid of a pistol-whipped homeless man, was brutally gunned down in a Burger King parking lot in 1989.

Davis was later convicted of killing MacPhail, but witnesses have since claimed that another man — one of the two trial witnesses who didn‘t rescind his testimony against Davis — might have been the killer.

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Troy Davis

The tumultuous case of death row inmate Troy Davis — whose execution date has thrice been postponed due to innocence claims — has been mostly quiet since last fall.

That’s about to change.

According to an e-mail I just got from Wende Gozan Brown at Amnesty International:

Indie rock band State Radio has become active on the Troy Davis case. They play Atlanta tomorrow night, and they’re holding a rally for Troy at Little 5 Points at noon tomorrow (Findley Plaza, 1160 Euclid Ave NE). Chad, lead singer, will play acoustic and perform the song he wrote for Davis — Jared Feuer, our southern regional director, will speak, as will William Montrose and Sara Tatonchi of Southern Center for Human Rights. Then their show that night will basically be dedicated to Troy.

State Radio’s video for the abovementioned song, “State of Georgia,” provides a pretty compelling summation of the newly discovered evidence in the case, including the recantations of seven of nine trial witnesses.

State Radio plays the Variety Playhouse tomorrow, Feb. 13.

(Photo courtesy Georgia Department of Corrections)

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Troy Anthony Davis, the Georgia man convicted of murdering a Savannah police officer in 1989, is scheduled to be executed Monday, Oct. 27, on 7 p.m. While Davis has no appeals left and no impediments stand in the way of his execution, Amnesty International and other groups are planning demonstrations and marches over the next few days to protest the imposition of the death penalty in a case that’s attracted international attention.

First up, in a little less than two hours, a rally will begin (PDF) on the steps of the state Capitol that’s expected to last from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Originally, the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to be the featured speaker, but the Amnesty folks just told us they can’t confirm he’ll be there.

Next, at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning, death-penalty activists will march in a funeral procession from Underground Atlanta to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is located in GSU’s twin towers on the northeast corner of Piedmont and MLK Boulevard across from the Capitol. The group will carry a casket filled with more than 140,000 Amnesty International petitions from people opposed to Davis’ execution. Participants are asked to wear black.

To keep up with events over the weekend, go to the Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty website.

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Supporters and loved ones of Troy Davis marched through downtown Atlanta and rallied at Ebenezer Baptist Church September 18, 2008.

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What was planned as a vigil instead became a celebration.

This evening, less than two hours before he was scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia, longtime death row inmate Troy Davis was granted a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court. To celebrate the eleventh hour decision, Davis supporters gathered on the western steps of the state Capitol.

“I was stunned,” says Laura Moye, deputy director of Amnesty International USA’s Southern regional office. Moye learned of the court’s decision while she was taping a radio interview. “We’d hoped for it all day. I was prepared for the worst, but I’d hoped for the best.”

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court’s justices are scheduled to decide whether or not to hear Davis’ case. If they refuse to hear it, the stay will end.

“The struggle is not over,” Moye says. “We at least have a little more time. Every day is a gift. We will celebrate today, we will organize tomorrow.”

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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On May 17, the NAACP and Amnesty International jointly sponsored a rally to bring awareness to the cause of Troy Davis. Emotional loved ones and supporters gathered to try saving the life of a man they all believe to be innocent.

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