Reljournal

I wouldn't be crossposting this here unless it was seriously desperate, since I know only a handful of people read this. But since that handful exists: I'm posting here about the imminent execution of Troy Davis of Georgia, a Death Row inmate about to be killed by the state for a crime there's almost no substantiating evidence that he actually committed. Some of you are familiar with this case already. Some might not be. Here's the rundown:

Troy Davis is a Georgia death row inmate -- a 42-year-old black man -- who was convicted of murdering a police officer 20 years ago. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted, it's been shown that there is no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, and several witnesses are now claiming that a different person committed it. Basically, there's not enough evidence any more to even convict him, much less execute him. But due to the legal system in Georgia and the way appeals work, he's still sentenced to death.

His execution has been slated for tonight at 7PM, in four hours. All of his appeals have been denied -- Amnesty International's appeal has been denied -- the parole board and the judge and all the state officials involved are absolutely refusing to stay his execution even long enough to open an investigation. As of today, his likeliest avenues to deliverance from his execution appear to be closed, but that doesn't mean we should stop raising hell.

Please read about this and sign a petition/make a phone call before Troy Davis's time is up. He is not a guilty man, not proven guilty under our system of American justice, and his execution would be a murder by the state -- I say this absolutely as both a law student and a moral human being. People from the former director of the FBI to Pope Benedict have come out against this execution and to protest to save Davis's life. Take five minutes. It might not do anything, but it might do something, and if it does something it could save a man from being unjustly and illegally murdered by the state of Georgia.

This would be without question a murder under both American principles and almost any religious ones -- read this, take it seriously, and boost the signal to others before it's too late. It seems all but certain that Davis will be executed tonight, but it is never entirely too late for another appeal or intervention. Make it known to Georgia State and the US government that America won't stand for the murder of Troy Davis.

Links:

Clemency Denied for Troy Davis - Take Action Now to Stop the Execution (The Innocence Project)
Troy Davis (Amnesty International)
The Troy Davis case at Wikipedia
Troy Davis to be executed after parole board denies clemency (Yahoo! News)

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