Abolitionist Alert: Troy Davis Needs Help

The protests against Troy Davis' impending death by execution in the State of Georgia are loud and clear.  Many people who are not even death penalty opponents are against executing this or any possibly innocent man who is prevented from proving his innocence because evidence arrived late.  Americans are tough on crime, but most citizens of this land of the free and home of the brave are fair-minded people who are against the possibility of shedding innocent blood, even the blood of a poor black man from the Deep South. 

In fact, eighty percent of Americans are Christians, and we recognize that God Himself pleads the cause of the poor.  This writer is very proud to report to Georgia's Pardon and Parole Board, The Honorable Governor Sonny Perdue, and even to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, that we yet live in a country where the vast majority of citizens completely and totally reject the very notion of evolution, holding fast to the faith that there is a just and righteous God on His Throne who observes and judges the works of man.

Many other Americans are Jewish, Muslims, and Spiritualists, atheists and agnostics, but there are none who uphold shedding innocent blood except possibly Satanists, who still conduct animal sacrifices such as the execution of Troy Davis would be. 

Therefore, to commit this criminal execution against the will of the very people whom elected officials have sworn to serve would be to ignore their voice in government.  If Governor Perdue or our Supreme Court justices fail to intervene on behalf of this possibly innocent man, they renounce their Constituional responsibility to safeguard Americans' most precious inalienable right - the right to life.  To deny a condemned American the opportunity to give evidence of his innocence before a jury of his peers now that Davis has adequate legal counsel who stand ready to present evidence to clear his name and spare his life would be a greater travesty of justice than the laws that condemned Troy Davis' ancestors to centuries of enslavement in Georgia's rich cotton fields.

Troy Davis has been on death row since 1992 for committing a crime for which there is absolutely no confession or physical evidence linked to him.  Davis was convicted with nothing more than witness testimony, and now seven of the nine witnessess presented at his trial have signed affidavits confessing that they lied under coercement by police or have been found to present conflicting testimony.  If tried today, it is doubtful that Troy Davis would even be sentenced to prison, much less be required to pay the ultimate penalty for a crime he likely did not commit.

Below is a letter is to "abolitionists" by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.  The people who fought against the wrongful enslavement of millions of people on American soil were also called "abolitionists."  One can only hope that the efforts of this organization and many others are successful on Mr. Davis' behalf, just as those earlier abolitionists eventually brought an end to America's cruel enslavement of black people. 

Because Troy Davis' case shows so clearly that even innocent people can and have been executed in America, many persons who do not object to imposing the death penalty for heineous crimes now object to executions.  Troy Davis' case has made Americans realize that our justice system leaves the possibility for innocent citizens to be put to death because of inadequate resources to hire attorneys and investigators to mount an effective defense to the charges against them. 

We the people now understand that legal technicalities such as late-arriving evidence and late development of scientific methods to test evidence leaves the lives of possibly innocent men and women hanging on the hope that the citizen's governor or some righteous federal judge will say to the executioner, "Stop!  In the name of the great United States of America and God, whom we trust, we will never kill a man while doubt of his guilt remains."

This wrter has confidence in the inate goodness in most people and in the power of God to touch the hearts of man.  My Bible says "The heart of the king is in God's hands, and He turns it the way that he will."  Therefore, I say to the Davis family, to their many supporters, and to those who oppose Troy Davis' execution across the globe, have faith in God.  I do not believe He has left Georgia's State Capital and our great Supreme Court devoid of a fair and righeous ruler.

Troy Davis, tell your trembling, black hands that God has said, "Be still and know that I am the Lord."  Although you have Amnesty International and thousands of people working to save your life, this writer believes the Lord Himself will move on the heart of some servant or servants He has already prepared for a day such as this.  Just as Joseph was allowed to be sold into bondage in order to prepare a way to feed Egypt and His people during famine years later, He has likely already placed some righteous servants into high positions of leadership who will intervene on your behalf at the appointed time. The world waits with you, Troy Davis, to see who that will be.

The letter to abolitionists is below, followed by Bob Herbert's article, "What's the Rush?"

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Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 Dear Abolitionists, See "in person" action opportunities for those in or near Georgia and DC below. Other than Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles, the U.S. Supreme Court can stop the execution of Troy Davis. Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. for his alleged murder of Police Officer Mark MacPhail in Georgia. Yet serious doubts of his guilt remain and compelling evidence of his innocence has not been heard in court. There is no physical evidence linking Troy to the crime; no DNA, no murder weapon. Seven out of 9 witnesses have recanted their testimony implicating Troy, and one of the two remaining witnesses is the likely suspect. All Troy Davis has ever asked for is the chance to be tried in a court of law with the actual evidence. Now more than ever is the time for justice to be served. Troy Davis and his family need your help! Please see Bob Herbert's column in the New York Times, also below, and note the following, send the e-mail, send the fax, and on Monday morning make yourself heard again via telephone...  The message is simple:  "I am calling to ask the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider the case of Troy Davis and to stop this execution." A friend in California called me to say that "...in reference to telephone numbers, I discovered this morning that for the State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the most accessible - i. e., a real person answered and spoke versus a series of recordings.. . Get a real person at 404-656-5712. ..." "...in reference to facsimile numbers, 404-651-8502 works...." "...in reference to electronic messages. clemency_informatio n@pap.state. ga.us will most likely work.... "...according to the individual with whom this morning I spoke, more than 84,000 electronic messages, more than 20,000 facsimiles and an unquantified number of telephone calls had in favor of Mister Davis been received.... "...THE STATE OF GEORGIA BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES IS COUNTING.... "...PLEASE CONTINUE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE COUNT.... Click here to read about last week's protests in Atlanta, including a fast going on now that you can join in solidarity. ***************************** In the New York Times.... September 20, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist What's the Rush? by Bob Herbert Troy Davis, who was convicted of shooting a police officer to death in the parking lot of a Burger King in Savannah, Ga., is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. There is some question as to his guilt (even the pope has weighed in on this case), but the odds of Mr. Davis escaping the death penalty are very slim. Putting someone to death whose guilt is uncertain is always perverted, but there*s an extra dose of perversion in this case. The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to make a decision on whether to hear a last-ditch appeal by Mr. Davis on Sept. 29. That's six days after the state of Georgia plans to kill him. Mr. Davis's lawyers have tried desperately to have the execution postponed for those few days, but so far to no avail. Georgia is among the most cold-blooded of states when it comes to dispatching prisoners into eternity. So the lawyers are now trying to get the Supreme Court to issue a stay, or decide before Tuesday on whether it will consider the appeal. No one anywhere would benefit from killing Mr. Davis on Tuesday, as opposed to waiting a week to see how the Supreme Court rules. So why the rush? The murder happened in 1989, and Mr. Davis has been on death row for 17 years. Six or seven more days will hardly matter. Most of the time, the court declines to hear such cases. If that's the decision this time, Georgia can get on with the dirty business of taking a human life. If the court agrees to hear the appeal, it would have an opportunity to get a little closer to the truth of what actually happened on the terrible night of Aug. 19, 1989, when Officer Mark Allen MacPhail was murdered. He was shot as he went to the aid of a homeless man who was being pistol-whipped in the parking lot. Nine witnesses testified against Mr. Davis at his trial in 1991, but seven of the nine have since changed their stories. One of the recanting witnesses, Dorothy Ferrell, said she was on parole when she testified and was afraid that she'd be sent back to prison if she didn't agree to finger Mr. Davis. She said in an affidavit: "I told the detective that Troy Davis was the shooter, even though the truth was that I didn't know who shot the officer." Another witness, Darrell Collins, a teenager at the time of the murder, said the police had 'scared' him into falsely testifying by threatening to charge him as an accessory to the crime. He said they told him that he might never get out of prison. "I didn't want to go to jail because I didn't do nothing wrong," he said. At least three witnesses who testified against Mr. Davis (and a number of others who were not part of the trial) have since said that a man named Sylvester "Redd" Coles admitted that he was the one who had killed the officer. Mr. Coles, who was at the scene, and who, according to authorities, later ditched a gun of the same caliber as the murder weapon, is one of the two witnesses who have not recanted. The other is a man who initially told investigators that he could not identify the killer. Nearly two years later, at the trial, he testified that the killer was Mr. Davis. So we have here a mess that is difficult, perhaps impossible, to sort through in a way that will yield reliable answers. (The jury also convicted Mr. Davis of a nonfatal shooting earlier that same evening on testimony that was even more dubious.) There was no physical evidence against Mr. Davis, and the murder weapon was never found. As for the witnesses, their testimony was obviously shaky in the extreme * not the sort of evidence you want to rely upon when putting someone to death. In March, the State Supreme Court in Georgia, in a 4-to-3 decision, denied Mr. Davis*s request for a new trial. The chief justice, Leah Ward Sears, writing for the minority, said: "In this case, nearly every witness who identified Davis as the shooter at trial has now disclaimed his or her ability to do so reliably." Amnesty International conducted an extensive examination of the case, documenting the many recantations, inconsistencies, contradictions and unanswered questions. Its report on the case drew widespread attention, both in the U.S. and overseas. William Sessions, a former director of the F.B.I., has said that a closer look at the case is warranted. And Pope Benedict XVI has urged authorities in Georgia to re-sentence Mr. Davis to life in prison. Rushing to execute Mr. Davis on Tuesday makes no sense at all. ********************** IN PERSON ACTION OPPORTUNITIES GEORGIA If you are in or near Georgia, see the web page of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty at http://www.GFADP. org for information on protest opportunities. WASHINGTON, DC WHAT: Emergency Rally at Supreme Court: Save Troy Davis WHEN: Monday, September 22 @ noon WHERE: One First ST, NE (Sidewalk in front of US Supreme Court Building) For more info, contact cedp_dc@hotmail.com, or call (202) 492 0441. ____________ _________ _________ _________ SENT BY: Abraham J. Bonowitz Director of Affiliate Support National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty www.NCADP.org abe@ncadp.org 202-331-4090 561-371-5204 (Mobile)

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Mary Neal
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Website:  http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill

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Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  ~ Matthew 25:37-40