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From: GFADP@yahoogroups.com [mailto:GFADP@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
GFADP
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 1:54 PM
To: GFADP
Subject: [GFADP] Troy Davis - safe at least until September!







Friends,

I am happy to share with you that the US Supreme Court just called Troy's
Davis' lawyer- there will be NO DECISION (which also means no execution
date) until their court reconvenes in September. Our movement must have
struck a chord with someone. We remain committed to maintaining the
momentum here and are grateful for the additional time, months! that Troy
will now have with his family and friends.

We will post more information on next steps soon. Please see the article
below about today's press conference in Savannah delivering thousands of
petitions to District Attorney Larry Chisholm.

with love and hope,

Sara


Monday, Jun. 29, 2009


60,000 signatures supporting Troy Davis delivered


By RUSS BYNUM - Associated Press Writer

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Supporters of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis delivered
petitions with 60,000 signatures Monday to the office of Chatham County's
district attorney, who's being pressured to consider a new trial for Davis
based on questions raised in his appeals.


About 25 people from groups such as the NAACP and Amnesty International
handed a stack of petitions more than two feet high to spokeswoman for
District Attorney Larry Chisolm at a news conference outside the Chatham
County courthouse.


"We have sufficient evidence, we believe, to show that Troy Anthony Davis is
innocent," said Prince Jackson, president of the NAACP's Savannah branch.
"We are asking that he be given a chance. After all, his life is at stake."



Davis has spent nearly 18 years on death row for the 1989 slaying of
Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. His attorneys say he deserves a new
trial after several witnesses at his trial recanted their testimony.


Though the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether it will hear Davis'
latest appeal, his supporters are already working to put pressure on
Chisolm, who was elected Chatham County's first black district attorney last
year with much of his support coming from black voters in Savannah. Davis
also is black.


A decision from the high court was expected by Tuesday, as justices are
taking off on their summer break. If the court rejects Davis' case, it would
clear the way for Georgia to set a new execution date for Davis, who has
been scheduled to die by lethal injections three times since 2007 but was
spared when courts intervened.


Martina Correia, Davis' sister, said her brother was in decent spirits and
"praying for the best" when she visited him over the weekend. Correia said
she hoped Chisolm would give weight to the petition signatures, 11,000 of
which Davis' supporters said came from Chatham County.


"He's a fresh pair of eyes taking a look at this case," Correia said.

Chisolm's predecessor, Spencer Lawton, was district attorney when Davis was
convicted in 1991. Prosecutors under Lawton, who retired last year, rejected
Davis' claims of innocence and labeled statements by recanting witnesses as
"suspect."


Chisolm's spokeswoman, Lydia Sermons, said Monday the district attorney had
no comment. She has previously said that Chisolm wasn't sure he had the
legal authority to halt Davis' execution, and that he would not comment
until after the Supreme Court ruled.


MacPhail was slain 20 years ago while working off-duty as a security guard
at a bus station. He had rushed to help a homeless man who had been
pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he
approached Davis and two other men. Witnesses identified Davis as the
shooter at his 1991 trial.


But Davis' lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of
mistaken identity. They say three people who did not testify at Davis' trial
have said another man confessed to the killing.


The case has attracted worldwide attention, with calls to stop Davis'
execution from former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel
Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu. Rallies have been held as far away as
Paris.




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