Troy Davis

“Troy told me on the phone that he believes God keeps showing him mercy because he is not the one that committed this crime,” said Ms. Correia to The Final Call. “We are elated about this stay of execution but he knows that he is not completely out of the woods. The prison officials have tried to break his spirit but they can’t. He said that’s why they are upset.”

On Oct. 24, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 25-day stay of execution for Mr. Davis who had been scheduled to die on Oct. 27. Earlier in the month, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Mr. Davis. He was scheduled to be put to death in September before a stay was issued just two hours before the time of execution.

Kim Davis, center, sister of Troy Davis, a death-row inmate who received a stay of execution Oct. 24, is surrounded by supporters during an Amnesty International rally at the State Capitol in Atlanta, Sept. 11. Hundreds of blue-clad demonstrators wearing shirts that proclaimed ?I am Troy Davis? roamed the grounds cheering in support of the death row inmate at a raucous rally the day before his attorneys were to ask the Georgia parole board for clemency. Photo: AP Wide World Photos

“My brother told me on the phone that he is grateful for all of the support he has received and the works of so many people around the world,” said Ms. Correia to The Final Call. “He understands that his life is being dangled in front of him but he won’t let his faith be shaken.”

Witnesses claimed Mr. Davis, who was then 19 years of age, and two others were harassing a homeless man in the parking lot of a Burger King restaurant when the off-duty officer arrived to help the man. Witnesses also testified at trial thatMr. Davisthen shot Mr. MacPhail twice and fled the scene.

Since Mr. Davis’ 1991 conviction, seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony and no physical evidence has been presented that links Mr. Davis to the killing.

“This case can be pivotal. They understand that as long as Troy is alive, it increases the opportunity for their corruptness to be exposed,” said Ms. Correia. “If Troy is freed it could shut down the death penalty system in Georgia and expose these rogue cops who get people to make false testimonies against others to secure convictions.”

Supporters of Mr. Davis say officers and prosecutors railroaded the Black man into prison and aren’t going to easily allow him to escape their grasp.

“The state government is very concerned about the self-preservation of their reputation. The case of Troy Davis speaks volumes about the bias application of the death penalty in the United States,” said Laura Moye to The Final Call.

Ms. Moye serves as the southern deputy director of Amnesty International in Atlanta, which staged a Global Day of Solidarity march on Oct. 23 in conjunction with NAACP, the National Action Network, and supporters from as far as Finland. They delivered over 140,000 signatures of support for Mr. Davis to the office of the Parole Board.

“Policies, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act, have made it difficult to appeal cases like this and the courts are always wary about re-opening death penalty cases to avoid going back on a jury’s decision,” said Ms. Moye. “Until this point, the compelling issues in this case have been virtually ignored, leaving Georgia vulnerable to the possibility of killing an innocent man. This stay of execution gives us encouragement that there is still an opportunity to gain justice.”

Defense attorney Jay Wart told CNN that the court granted the stay so Mr. Davis’ legal team can file a new habeas corpus brief with a lower court. “We will argue that his execution would be a violation of the 8th Amendment,” he said.

The 8th Amendment reads that, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

In 2007, Amnesty International released a report on the case of Mr. Davis titled “Where is the justice for me? The case of Troy Davis, facing execution in Georgia.” In part, the 35-page report states, “The case of Troy Davis is a reminder of the legal hurdles that death row inmates must overcome in the U.S.A. in order to obtain remedies in the appeal courts. In this regard, Amnesty International fears that Troy Davis’ avenues for judicial relief have been all but closed off. In particular, he is caught in a trap set by U.S. Congress a decade ago when it withdrew funding from post-conviction defender organizations in 1995 and passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in 1996.”

The report also includes a plea from Mr. Davis. “I truly understand a life has been lost and I have prayed for that family just as I pray for mine, but I am Innocent and all I ask for is a True Day in a Just Court. If I am so guilty why do the courts deny me that? The truth is that they have no real case; the truth is I am Innocent,” he said.

Organizations take to

the streets

“We are pleased that Troy Davis is still alive,” said Edward DuBose, president of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP. “We have another 25 days to spread the word that they are trying to kill an innocent (man) here in Georgia.”

Mr. DuBose also explained to The Final Call that “Georgia has a poor track record in how they treat minorities and we see this case as a modern day lynching.”

The NAACP is working along with the family of Mr. Davis to mobilize a huge rally in Savannah on Nov. 1 to protest what Mr. DuBose calls “a corrupted system.”

“We want to make people aware that the candidate that is running for district attorney is the same man who was involved in getting Troy Davis convicted. We are going to shake up Chatham County,” vowed Mr. DuBose.

Ms. Empress Chi, founder of the Million Woman Movement (MWM) International, was mobilizing a protest on the steps of city hall in Philadelphia on October 25 simultaneously, the Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty prepared to host its 9thAnnual March to End Executions in Houston, Texas.

“Although we are ecstatic that our brother has been granted a stay of execution, the bottom line is that clemency must be granted,” said Ms. Chi to the Final Call. “Within these next 25 days we must do more to help get our brother home. We are telling people to make phone calls, send faxes, blast off e-mails, or hand out flyers because we as a people have to be even more visible in these social justice issues.”

Gloria Rubec, lead organizer of the Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, told The Final Call she believes that the case of Mr. Davis is “so important because it has captured the attention of not only the populist in American but also the judicial sphere. There have been gruesome errors made in taking the life of innocent people.”

“Troy’s case makes me think about Shaka Sankofa, Francis Newton, and others in that if new evidence would have been allowed to be presented we may still have them alive today,” Ms. Rubec said. “But if they would have admitted to killing Shaka unjustly it would have been an embarrassment to Harris County, the governor, and (President) Bush. So they killed an innocent man.”