May 28, 2009                                                                                                                                        (202) 226-4673

Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson

To Visit Death Row Prisoner Troy Anthony Davis      

Tomorrow (Friday,May 29, 2009) Reps. John Lewis (D-GA) and Hank Johnson (D-GA) will visit Mr. Troy Anthony Davis, a death row inmate incarcerated at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.  Rep. Lewis has been involved with the Davis case for the last two years, testifying at this parole board hearing and making appeals on his behalf.  Recently, he hosted a meeting for members of the Congressional Black Caucus with Mr. Davis’s attorneys to engage CBC action on this case, and he wrote a letter to the Attorney General, signed by Rep. Johnson and others.  Reps. Lewis and Johnson will release that letter to the press at the news conference.

                Mr. Davis was convicted of murdering a police officer in Savannah in 1989.  Since the time of his original trial, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony surrounding the conviction with considerable questions.  Mr. Davis has maintained his innocence from the beginning.  Because of technicalities, Georgia state and federal appeals, courts have not heard this new evidence.  Appeals have been made all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court which have been denied.  In a rare action, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a stay of Mr. Davis’s execution to make allowance for these appeals.  He has had three execution dates and three stays of execution.

Mr. Davis’s attorneys have made another final plea to the Supreme Court requesting that a federal court hear the evidence in his case.  A decision is expected soon, perhaps as early as June, when the court returns to session.   A variety of people have come to Mr. Davis’s aid, including former FBI Director William Sessions, former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI and others.  Amnesty International has amassed over 500,000 signatures on petitions to authorities.

WHO:                     Rep. John Lewis

                                Rep. Hank Johnson

                                Ben Jealous, President , NAACP

                                Martina Correia, advocate and sister of Troy Anthony Davis

                                Laura Moye, Deputy Director, Amnesty International USA, Facilitator

WHAT:                   Visit with Mr. Troy Anthony Davis on Death Row

WHEN:                  Friday May 29, 2009, at 10:30 AM

WHERE:                Georgia Diagnostics and Classification Prison, Prison Boulevard, Jackson, Ga

The news conference will take place immediately following the visit in front of the prison.  Estimated start time of the news conference is between 1:00 and 1:30 PM.                 ####

Brenda Jones

Communications Director

The Honorable John Lewis

343 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

wk - 202.226.4673

fx -   202.225.0351

www.house.gov//johnlewis