HUNDREDS OF NEW YORKERS PROTEST IMPENDING EXECUTION ON GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR GEORGIA INMATE TROY DAVIS

Amnesty International Media Advisory
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Contact: Wende Gozan at Amnesty International USA, 212-633-4247 or Thenjiwe McHarris at 646-696-6537, tmcharris@aiusa.org.

(New York City) – Amnesty International activists, along with members of the New York NAACP, will protest the impending execution of Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis on Amnesty International’s Global Day of Action on May 19^th.  The rally will be held at Union Square, on 14^th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. It is one of dozens of events occurring in 31 states and the District of Columbia that day.

“This case exemplifies both the systemic flaws of the death penalty and the ugly truth that justice is still not applied equally in this country,” said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. “It has fallen through the gaping cracks in our legal system, where strong claims of innocence have disappeared without a trace.  We stand in solidarity with the Davis family and the hundreds of thousands around the world who are resolute in their desire to halt this execution.”  

Despite a strong case of innocence, to date Davis’ appeals have been denied at all levels of the government based on technicalities; most recently the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis’ request for a new trial or evidentiary hearing.  Those who have spoken out against the execution include Bob Barr, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, William Sessions and Pope Benedict XVI.  Davis, whose stay of execution will be lifted on May 16^th, has already been scheduled for execution three times -- once coming within an hour and a half of his death.

When Davis was convicted of murdering Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, there was no physical evidence, such as a murder weapon, linking him to the case.   Following the conviction, seven out of nine original state witnesses recanted in sworn affidavits or changed their original testimonies, several citing police coercion.  Nine people have alleged that one of the original witnesses is the actual killer, but authorities have never followed up on the lead.
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WHAT:        Rally at Union Square; part of Amnesty International’s Global Day of Action for Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis

WHO:        Hundreds of protestors from Amnesty International USA, New York NAACP, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, National Conference of Black Lawyers, New Yorkers for an Alternative to the Death Penalty, and National Lawyers’ Guild of New York.

WHEN:        Tuesday, May 19^th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:        Union Square, 14^th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South, NYC

For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis.

Joshua Siegel
Amnesty International
nymedia2@aiusa.org