Georgia's Shame

The Georgia Board of Parole and Pardons once again denied clemency to Troy Davis despite grave doubts about his guilt.  Seven out of the nine key witnesses who implicated him have recanted their testimony and another ten have claimed that another man, Sylvester Coles, was the killer.  No physical evidence ties Davis to the crime.  The execution is scheduled for tomorrow night.

Together with Duane Buck, whose execution in Texas was halted at the eleventh hour by the Supreme Court last week, and Steve Woods, whose was not, we have a remarkable distillation of what plagues the administration of the death penalty in this country:  innocence, arbitrariness, incompetent and under-funded trial lawyers and racism.

There is one more day to stop Troy Davis' execution.  The Southern Center for Human Rights is calling for a general strike or sick-out of all execution personnel — doctors, nurses, and guards should stay home tomorrow. The protests will begin at 7 p.m. at the capitol building in Atlanta.

You should continue to take action from wherever you are:

1. Email and call the Board of Pardons and urge them to reconsider: 404-656-5651.
2. Contact the Chatham County District Attorney and urge him to withdraw Troy’s death warrant: phone: 912-652-7308, fax: 912-652-7328.
3. Contact CorrectHealth and call for a general strike of all execution personnel - doctors, nurses, and guards should stay home tomorrow. Urge them not to participate in this travesty of justice: Phone: 770-692-4750; Fax: 770-692-4754