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As many as 1,000 people gathered in Atlanta for a march calling for justice for Troy Davis

I AM Troy Davis is an amazing story of one family's love and
its struggle to persevere against a well-known foe of the Black
community--the racist, broken and unjust U.S. justice system and its
primitive practice of capital punishment.

It's a story of activism and a sister's courage and determination to
stop the state of Georgia from executing her brother for a crime he did
not commit, while fighting for her own life against breast cancer.

The book centers around the aftermath of the August 19, 1989, killing
of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, who was fatally shot in the
Greyhound bus station/Burger King parking lot in Savannah, Ga. Because
of a tip from an informant and alleged eyewitness, Sylvester "Redd"
Cole, a massive manhunt ensued for the capture of Troy Davis--"dead or
alive."

The police terrorized Black residents of the city, and anybody
resembling Troy was getting slammed on the concrete. Furthermore, it was
reported that "the cops were kicking in Black folks' doors--threatening
young Black men that they would lock them up and throw away the key if
they didn't give information about Troy's whereabouts."

Troy, who was 19 years old, found out about the manhunt from his
sister, 21-year-old Martina Davis-Correia, who heard about it from TV
news coverage. Believing it was all a mistake and fearing her brother
would be killed by cops seeking revenge, Martina arranged for his safe
surrender.

Born less than 17 months apart, Martina and Troy were inseparable
growing up, and people regularly asked if they were twins. They shared a
love so strong that their mother, Virginia, called them "two peas in a
pod."

Based solely on the information provided to them by Redd Cole, the
police decided to manufacture a case against Troy. They pressured
supposed witnesses to finger Troy as the killer, because there was no
other evidence against him--no DNA, fingerprints or weapon. Within days,
even before the case was fully investigated, the county prosecutor
announced that he intended to seek the death penalty against Troy.

They were so anxious to kill Troy that not too many years before, we would've found Troy hanging from a tree.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE TRIAL began two years later in August 1991, with the state
calling 34 witnesses--eight of whom were supposed to be eyewitnesses.
These eyewitnesses either identified Troy as the killer, or they
corroborated Redd Cole's testimony and/or the events leading up to
MacPhail's death.

The case hinged upon two different versions of what occurred at that critical moment--Cole's versus Troy's.

Cole testified that he was arguing with Larry Young, a man he didn't
know, over a can of beer that Young had just purchased. When they
reached the Burger King parking lot, Cole said that out of the blue and
for no apparent reason, Troy (who was walking behind them with Darrell
"D.D." Collins) "came up and blindsided Larry on the side of the face
with a .38 snub-nosed pistol."

Cole claimed that he and Troy started running, and that he didn't see
the police officer until he heard the words "Hold it!" He turned
around, and the officer ran past him--that's when he heard the first
shot and then two more.

Cole also testified that he was carrying a chrome long-barreled .38
gun that he kept for protection, but that he hid the gun in some bushes
and then gave it to Jeffrey Sims to hold. Others testified that Redd
Cole did have a .38 that night. Cole claimed that he kept running to his
sister's house after he heard the shots, where he "changed shirts."
Troy showed up at the sister's house around a half hour later, topless
and asking for a shirt, so Cole gave Troy the same yellow T-shirt he had
just taken off.

Six witnesses were called for the defense, with Troy testifying last
and on his own behalf. Troy said that he had gone to a pool party on the
night in question with D.D. and another guy name Eric. Troy said he
heard shots as he was leaving the pool party, but didn't see who was
shooting. Later that night, Troy, D.D., Eric and Jeffrey Sims went to a
pool hall.

While they were inside the pool hall, they saw Redd Cole outside,
arguing with someone they didn't know--this was Larry Young. When the
argument started escalating, with Cole getting in Larry's face, Troy
went outside to intervene on Larry's behalf, causing Troy and Cole to
exchange some heated words. Larry continued walking with Redd Cole in
hot pursuit, and when they reached the Burger King parking lot, Troy
said he tried intervening again to no avail.

Troy decided to make his way back to the pool hall after Cole struck
Larry, and while he was walking, Troy quickened his pace when D.D. ran
past him. Then Troy heard someone say "Hold it!" followed by a gunshot.
He instinctively ducked and began running. Troy first thought that Cole
was shooting at him.

But a few moments later, after hearing another shot, Cole ran past
him. Wondering if Cole had gotten shot, Troy called out to him, "You
alright?" but Cole kept running without responding.

Troy later testified that he made his way back to the pool hall, and a
short time later, sirens began to wail and police cars started coming
from the underpass. Troy said he didn't know exactly what had happened,
but his gut told him to get out of there.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MARTINA ASKS several questions in this book, and I have a few
questions, too. Why weren't Redd Cole and D.D. included in the lineups
conducted by police? Everyone said Cole had a .38 that night (which I
think is the only reason why he admitted to having it), but why weren't
efforts made to locate Cole's .38 to determine through forensic analysis
if it was the same gun used to murder Officer MacPhail?

Why did Cole feel the need to change shirts? And why did he wait
until the next morning to implicate Troy instead of the night before? On
the same day that the bloodthirsty county prosecutor announced he was
seeking the death penalty against Troy, Larry Young mistakenly
identified Troy from a photo lineup that didn't include Redd Cole. But
when Cole walked in the station minutes later for a witness reenactment,
Larry corrected the mistake by identifying Cole as the person arguing
with him.

I am really astonished that Cole was never considered as a suspect in
the case. It's so obvious that the investigators were suffering from a
severe case of tunnel vision from the moment Cole walked in and
incriminated Troy.

Even in the face of so much uncertainty and doubt, the jury took less than two hours to convict Troy of all counts.

While reading the book, I couldn't help wondering what would have
happened had the jury found Troy not guilty in such a highly charged
atmosphere--a Black man accused of killing a white cop in the South.
Someone had to pay for the murder of Officer MacPhail. And in my
opinion, the guilty verdict had to be an attempt to give justice to
Officer MacPhail and/or his grieving family and colleagues, who sat
prominently in the courtroom throughout the trial--because the verdict
was not based on the legal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Since the evidence didn't prove Troy guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt, I'm sure the jury used America's heavily relied upon "any nigger
would do" standard to find him guilty.

In Georgia, like in most states in the U.S., it's clear that a Black
defendant convicted of killing a white victim (especially a cop) is much
more likely to be sentenced to death than a white defendant convicted
of killing a Black victim. Therefore, it was no surprise the jury
ignored the mitigating pleads to spare Troy's life by unanimously
deciding (while his family sat hopefully behind him, with his mother
clutching her Bible) that Troy should "be punished by being put to
death."

To stop from going completely insane--and I know all about this from
the 16 years I spent on death row and 29 years of incarceration--Troy
had to block out almost everything that was happening on the outside,
especially family events and crises which could weigh heavily on the
mind and push him over the edge.

The family visits he received every Saturday kept him strong and full
of hope, and gave him something to look forward to. And in turn, it
kept the family strong and hopeful also, because not only was Troy on
death row, but his entire family was on death row with him. "I would
rather die," his father Joseph said shortly before Troy was moved to
death row, "than bury a child I love." Joseph stopped eating and taking
his insulin, and eventually ended up dying in February 1992 after having
been in a diabetic coma for months.

The book goes on to expose the ups and downs of the long and
inadequate appeals process--a process that's not only not worthy of
determining who should remain incarcerated, but definitely not worthy of
deciding who should live and who should be put to death.

Court after court denied Troy's appeals, and every time a court did
so, it moved him one step closer toward execution. Nevertheless, Troy
and the Davis family remained firm in their belief that justice would
prevail--his innocence would be proven, and he would be released.

In March 2001, Martina was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and
given six months to live. The cancer was so advanced that some of the
doctors in the practice didn't think there was any sense in treating
her. But one doctor insisted on doing whatever could be done.

It was really touching reading that, at the very moment when she was
told she had only six months to live, this loving woman didn't think of
herself. Her immediate thoughts were: Who is going to take care for my
7-year-old son De'Jaun and who will fight for Troy?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EVENTUALLY, seven of the nine eyewitnesses who testified against Troy
came forward and swore that they were pressured or coerced into
implicating him. This newly discovered evidence also implicated Redd
Cole as the killer.

Unfortunately, the court system in the U.S. doesn't acknowledge
innocence. After conviction, the appellate process focuses exclusively
on whether proper procedures were followed and any constitutional
violations occurred that could warrant overturning the conviction or
sentence.

The witnesses' recantations clearly established Troy's
innocence--proving that he was framed by overzealous cops and
prosecutors. But citing senseless laws like the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEPDA), the courts were blocked
from even considering the new evidence six months after the conviction.

I called for the repeal of the AEPDA in 2006 after the state of
California executed/murdered Stanley Tookie Williams. I wrote in my
column "Keeping It Real" for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty's
newsletter The New Abolitionist in February 2006:

The Constitution and innocence means nothing in the eyes of the courts
or prosecutors. They're more concerned with procedures than assuring
that justice prevails. This is irrefutable evidence that our system is
out of control. Americans should be appalled and start demanding that
common sense safeguards be put back into place, instead of washed away.
Demand the repeal of the deadliest of all procedural barriers: the
so-called Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

As a certified paralegal and someone who has practiced jailhouse law
over the last 17 years, I can attest to the fact that Troy's case is a
prime example of why this system is broken beyond repair and needs to be
totally dismantled and put out of the business of killing people.

It's shocking that in one of the major rulings in Troy's case, a
federal judge declared that the witnesses who said under oath that they
were intimidated and coerced by police were less credible than the
police officers who had testified that nothing "inappropriate" occurred.
Did the judge really expect the officers to testify that they
threatened and coerced the witnesses? I don't believe an officer has
ever in the history of American jurisprudence testified that he
threatened, coerced, beat or tortured a witness or suspect in a case.

Even more shocking is the fact that this same judge admitted on the
record that the case against Troy "may not be ironclad," but still
permits his execution. Moreover, it was sickening to read that the
county prosecutor said the witnesses were credible during the trial, but
were liars when they recanted their testimony.

The book highlights the need to put the system out of the business of
killing people by quoting a dissenting opinion written by U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia (who was joined by Justice Clarence
Thomas):

This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of
a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial, but is later
able to convince a habeas court that he is "actually" innocent.

In other words, these two dishonorable bastards said that even though
Troy had evidence he was actually innocent, he should still be put to
death because he had a full and fair trial.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WITH THE courts reluctant to grant Troy relief, Martina decided to
seek assistance from outside the legal community to pressure the court
and the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to stop his
execution.

What followed is a textbook lesson on activism and how an ordinary
person, Martina, was able to conjure up superhuman strength and
extraordinary activist skill to fight off breast cancer and try to stop
her brother from being put to death.

The first turning point came when she was able to get the human
rights organization Amnesty International to issue a report in February
2007 on Troy's case called http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/023/2007">Where Is the Justice for Me?
According to the book, "expressions of outrage and offers of support
began piling in" as soon as the 40-page report hit the Internet.

Then, on July 9, 2007, eight days before a scheduled execution date
for Troy, Martina helped arrange a conference call where Troy was able
to talk with reporters who were unwilling to do a story on the case. She
was hoping that by talking directly with Troy, they would "hear how
honest and genuine" he was, and when they did, she knew they would tell
his story.

She was right. They woke the next morning to find Troy's story was covered by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and NPR's All Things Considered. In the following days, it was covered by the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington Post.

With Martina leading the charge--like a one-woman army--there were
protests and rallies held all over the country on Troy's behalf. And
before long, the fight to save Troy's life grew to the point where
millions of people from around the world signed petitions trying to stop
his execution--including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former
President Jimmy Carter, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and former
FBI Director William Sessions.

Even though she was gravely ill from the effects of cancer
treatments, with long nights of vomiting, retching and diarrhea with her
hair falling out in clumps, Martina always found the strength to get
out of bed, raise her son De'Jaun, and travel around the world fighting
for Troy and against the death penalty.

I was so moved by Troy's story that I also sent a letter to the
Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole requesting clemency in 2007.
Family and friends of mine participated in an "I Am Troy Davis" rally in
downtown Chicago--both of which were organized by the Campaign to End
the Death Penalty.

The book goes on to reveal the incredible emotional roller-coaster
ride that Troy and his family were forced to endure as they successfully
fought off three different execution dates: July 17, 2007; September
23, 2008; and October 27, 2008. He came within 23 hours from being
executed on one date, two weeks on another, and as close as 90 minutes
on another.

After the emotional and psychological trauma of facing down three
execution dates, with a fourth possible date forthcoming, the family's
matriarch, Virginia, passed away of natural causes on April 12, 2011. As
long as I live, the image of her praying, "Please don't let them kill
my child. Please don't let them kill my child," will forever be etched
into my memory bank, knowing that my mother most likely prayed the same
prayer during the 16 years I spent on death row.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BEFORE THE family had the chance to finish mourning her passing,
Troy's fourth execution date was set for September 21, 2011, throwing
them back into yet another state of emergency.

Like for a previous scheduled execution, a small group of family and
friends filed in and out of a room saying their painful goodbyes to
Troy. And after being forced to leave by prison guards, they eventually
joined the hundreds of other people--friends, supporters and media from
around the world--outside of the prison for a pray vigil and to protest
the execution.

I remember it like it was yesterday. The execution was scheduled for 7
p.m., and I was watching the TV news coverage from my prison cell here
in Dixon, Ill.

As was pointed out in the book, there was some kind of unexplained
commotion going on in the crowd. No one knew what was happening, not
even the TV talking heads, until there was a roar from the crowd: TROY
GOT A STAY! The crowd started cheering, jumping, shouting and hugging
each other in pure jubilation. I even let out a loud scream: YEAH! I
screamed hoping Troy would receive more time to fight with, because I
knew where there is life, there is hope.

Someone called out minutes later that he didn't get a stay--it was
merely a delay from the U. S. Supreme Court until the court rule on the
last-ditch effort to stop the execution. Unfortunately, no one knew how
long the delay would last.

I didn't believe they would kill him with the whole world watching,
with millions of devoted supporters standing with him, and especially in
the face of so much uncertainty.

The delay was nerve-wracking, as minutes turned into hours. Martina
wondered what they were doing to Troy as the delay lingered on and on.
Was he lying on the gurney in the execution chamber, with the IV needle
still in his vein. Was he in pain?

No one knew until word came around 10 p.m. that he was in a cell,
unafraid--he wanted his family to know he was okay. The suspense of the
delay was really stressful on everyone's mind--including mine, and I was
hundreds of miles away.

"The court-ordered execution of Troy Anthony Davis has been carried
out." A prison spokeswoman came out and announced. "The time of death
was 11:08 p.m."

As the book described, "Everyone around her was weeping. But
Martina's eyes were bone dry." Some of the people wanted to express
their outrage and sorrow, but Martina just wanted to leave. I
immediately turned the TV off in frustration and laid in bed tossing and
turning--my mind wouldn't allow me to sleep.

Someone had to pay for the killing of Officer MacPhail, and it's sad
that they vengefully murdered the wrong man in front of an international
audience and with millions of people pleading with them not to.

Keeping It Real: Troy wasn't the first Black man lynched by an angry
mob. This angry mob was dressed in black robes, suit and ties, and
uniforms. And to honor Troy's last wish of ending the death penalty, I'm
going to continue fighting this unmerciful system until we bring this
sick madness to an end.

Over 2,000 people attended Troy's funeral on October 1, 2011. And
exactly two months after that, on December 1, 2011, Martina
Davis-Correia passed away and was laid to rest next to Virginia and Troy
on December 10, 2011--fittingly, that was International Human Rights
Day.

She lived for 10 years after being given only six months to live.

My review cannot give this book its proper credit, but I can say I
really enjoyed it and hope others will read it to find out how America
murdered an innocent man and why we don't need a death penalty. The
Civil War and the so-called end of slavery may have occurred well over
150 years ago, and Jim Crow was marched out of existence century later,
but America's love for lynching Black men seems to be a thirst it cannot
quench.

My name is Stanley Howard, and I AM TROY DAVIS!
http://socialistworker.org/2013/10/17/they-killed-him-as-the-world-watched