"Since I was a law student, I have been against the death penalty. It does not deter. It is severely discriminatory against minorities, especially since they’re given no competent legal counsel defense in many cases. It’s a system that has to be perfect. You cannot execute one innocent person. No system is perfect. And to top it off, for those of you who are interested in the economics it, it costs more to pursue a capital case toward execution than it does to have full life imprisonment without parole."--Ralph Nader
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This morning, the daddy got out of bed, made coffee, and sipped it out on his patio. Then, with java still in hand, he strolled leisurely around his backyard, smelling flowers and listening to birds.
Then the image of a round, speckled-face Troy Davis came into his head, this almost nerdy looking guy who, had he not been arrested and convicted, could have been someone's smart lawyer defending someone in court, or some community librarian sitting behind a desk. This is the same Troy Davis who, last week, was saved by the U.S. Supreme Court just two hours before he was put to death by the racist parole board of Georgia. The same Troy Davis who is awaiting to hear if the same court that saved him last week (the U.S. Supreme Court) will, in a few days or a couple of weeks, say they will NOT hear his case, signaling to the racist Georgia Parole board to go ahead and execute him...
The same Troy Davis who not only can't grab a cup of coffee and walk around his backyard; he can't even leave his cell.
The Villager over at Electronic Village says, "It is up to us to share information with our blog readers that they might not find elsewhere." The daddy agrees and adds, "Keep Troy Davis in the front of their minds and in the center of your hearts until he is liberated from prison and can walk in his own backyard, smell the flowers and hear the birds sing again.
Meanwhile, Troy Davis has sent a message to those who continue to support him. It suggests that he is a man of faith who believes in God, in himself, and in our commitment to continue the fight against the death penalty and for peace:
To all:
This is a message from Troy Anthony Davis I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime. As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can't even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail. I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist. So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis'. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country. I can't wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing, " I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
--------------------------------------------------------
Note: To sign the petition to save Troy Davis or to find out how you can help,
check out his website at: troyanthonydavis@yahoo.com
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7 comments:
Thanks, Daddy, for focusing our attention on something of greater importance than Sarah Palin proclaiming she's a member of a "team of mavericks" (wait, I thought mavericks worked alone . . .??).
I'll spread the word to friends.
MacDaddy, don't you think they arrested and convicted without much evidence because he killed a cop, not because he's black?
MacDaddy,
Do you know exactly where Mr. Davis is, like the name and address of the prison and his id#, or anything else that one would need to contact him.
I would like to send a letter of support to Mr. Troy Davis, but I don't have any idea where to send it.
If you could dig that up and post it I would really appreciate it.
I really would like to send a letter of support, I know I would like support if I was in his position.
Thanks MacDaddy
somebodiesfriend: Good idea. Here's Troy's address:
TROY A. DAVIS 657378
GDCP PO BOX 3877 G-3-79
JACKSON, GEORGIA 30233
To sign a petition or find other ways you can help, visit his website at:
troyanthonydavis@yahoo.com
anon1:I welcome the opportunity to focus on something other than the Palin. After listening to her speak last night, I feel that this dumbing down thing we're doing in America is working. I can't remember what magazines I read and I want to shoot something.
anon2: Yes, part of it is the fact that a police officer was shot. But to be more precise, a white police officer was shot apparently by a black man. According to the racist psychology, some black man had to be convicted and executed. The reason I say this is because the paltry amount of evidence (mostly black witnesses) and the way the evidence was gathered, including intimidating the witnesses to say that a particular black male (Troy Davis) pulled the trigger.
Check out Troy's website and you'll get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Thanks for posting this. I too do not support the death penalty for a variety of reasons.
Unfortunately, we have let our prison system grow out of control to the detriment of our schools and community centers.
And anonymous is right... with all the hype about lipstick and bailouts, we need to put these stories back on our agendas.
Thanks for your help MacDaddy
I'll get a letter of support out over the weekend.
It is a sad state of affairs when they will even think of putting someone to death with flimsy evidence.
And their reasoning is somebody needs to pay, it doesn't really matter who, any Black Man will do!
It is just so wrong on every level.
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