[Marxism] Free Troy Davis! Stop execution! Int'l actions hit frame-up

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.themilitant.com/2009/7321/732101.html
Vol. 73/No. 21      June 1, 2009 

Free Troy Davis!
Stop the execution! 
Worldwide actions protest frame-up
(lead article)
 
BY LISA POTASH  
ATLANTA, May 19-Spearheading a global day of action to stop the execution of
Troy Davis, nearly 500 rallied in a spirited protest today outside the
Georgia State Capitol. 
Amnesty International USA Southern Regional Director Jared Feuer reported
that actions took place in 28 countries. 

Davis, who is Black, was arrested in 1989 and convicted in 1991 for the
killing of Mark MacPhail, a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia.
Rallies, protests, and an international campaign on his behalf have resulted
in Davis's three previous execution dates being postponed. 

On April 16 the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal for a new
trial. Davis's attorneys are asking Chatham County's district attorney to
hold off issuing a death warrant in order to allow Davis to exhaust an
appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Martina Correia, a sister of Davis and a leader of the defense campaign,
urged his supporters to continue the fight. "The Troy Davis case opens a
window into the 'old' South," she said in thanking those in attendance.
"We're not weak, we're not silent! Keep standing, talking, fighting!" 

Troy Davis called in by phone to thank his supporters and to urge them to
keep up the fight. 

The size and prominent participants in the rally reflected the growing
support for Davis's fight. The rally was chaired by Lorraine Jacques White,
a popular local radio host. Rev. Charles White, national field director of
the NAACP, and Edward Dubose, Georgia State NAACP Conference president, were
among the speakers. 

Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, spoke,
demanding that Georgia governor Sonny Perdue use his influence to stop the
injustice against Davis. 

Sara Totonchi, chair of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty,
pointed out that of the 100 people on death row in Georgia, 7 have been
exonerated based on faulty eyewitness testimony. 

Seven of the nine prosecution witnesses who claimed to have seen Davis shoot
MacPhail have since recanted or contradicted their stories, with several
saying they were pressured by the cops to finger Davis. No weapon was found
nor any physical evidence produced connecting Davis to the shooting. 

Juan Melendez, originally from Puerto Rico, spent 18 years on Florida's
death row before being exonerated. "An innocent man can never be released
from the grave," Melendez said, speaking at the rally. He urged that Troy
Davis be given the opportunity to prove his innocence. 

People of all ages participated in the rally. Caitie Leary, a junior at
Georgia State University and a member of the GSU Progressive Student
Alliance, told the Militant this fight is important because "what's
happening to Davis is wrong." GSU sophomore Bethany Wright said she was
"appalled by the appeals court denial of Davis's right to fight for his
life." 

Kimberly Hicks said she joined in the rally to support Davis because of "the
inept representation at his trial and new information that might exonerate
him. I think that the state has an obligation to hear new evidence. If
they're not willing to do that, who's next?" 

Others participating in the rally program included Georgia state senators
Vincent Fort and Nan Orrock. 

Rachele Fruit contributed to this article. 
 


*****

BY SETH GALINSKY  
NEW YORK-More than 300 people rallied in Union Square May 19 to demand
freedom for Troy Davis. "We're here to say we're going to fight to save his
life," Thenjiwe McHarris, an organizer for Amnesty International, told the
crowd. 
Lawrence Hayes, a former death row prisoner who was paroled in 1991,
demanded that Davis be "granted clemency or given a pardon." 

There were also speakers from the NAACP, National Conference of Black
Lawyers, National Lawyers Guild, and National Action Network. 

Yusef Salaam, falsely convicted of rape in the 1989 Central Park jogger case
when he was a teenager, spoke, demanding Davis be freed. The convictions of
Salaam and four others were overturned in 2002. 

Eunice Kim, a 16-year-old high school student from Long Island, came to the
rally with a classmate. "This case is not just about Troy Davis, it's about
human rights," she said. "Our own rights are only guaranteed when everyone's
rights are guaranteed." 

"There's a lot of e-mail campaigns for Troy going on and that's OK," she
said. "But what's really important is to come out and protest with other
people." 

Zack Moh, 18, a student at LaGuardia College, learned about Troy Davis for
the first time at the rally. "I've never been a big fan of the police," Moh
said, "and then to hear how the witnesses were pressured by the cops to
testify against Troy Davis, that's crazy. His case deserves to be heard by
the Supreme Court." 
 


*****

BY SUSAN LAMONT  
WASHINGTON-"At our founding 100 years ago, the NAACP began in the struggle
against legal lynching, where a Black man could be taken out of his jail
cell, hung from a tree, and people would stand around and take pictures with
his body," Hilary Shelton, NAACP Washington Bureau director, told a spirited
rally of more than 100 here. 
"Today, a young man faces the same situation, and there are others on death
row like him. That's why we must commit to the fight to end the death
penalty," Shelton said. 

Students from area campuses, political activists, and others filled the
meeting room at the All Souls Unitarian Church. Other speakers included
exonerated death row prisoner Shujaa Graham, U.S. representative Hank
Johnson of Georgia, and Amnesty International executive director Larry Cox.

 




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