A Time of Rememberance & Reflection: Troy Davis’ Execution & Burial
After a valiant effort to halt his execution, on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 11:15PM, people from all around the world said goodbye to Troy Davis, a death row inmate, in the state of Georgia’s penal system. As was aptly stated by Edward Dubose, Georgia State Conference, President of the NAACP, “Troy’s execution, and the exceptional unfairness of it amidst so much doubt, has galvanized a global movement in his name. Troy’s is remembered not only because of the circumstances around his case, but because even in the face of death he understood that his story had the potential to change this country forever. There is much work ahead to ensure the end of the death penalty in the United States, but we will do it together, and we will do it in Troy’s name.”
On Saturday October 1, 2011, Troy Davis will be buried in Savannah, Georgia. People from all over: the state of Georgia, the United States, and the world will be in attendance. The Davis family remains in countless hearts and prayers during this incredibly heartbreaking and hard period in our nation’s history.
The services below are open to the public, but cameras and video recorders will not
be permitted:
Friday, September 30th, 2011
Wake and Memorial Service
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
New Life Apostolic Temple
2120 West Bay Street
Savannah, Georgia 31415
Saturday, October 1, 2011
“Celebration of Life Service” (Funeral)
11 a.m.
Jonesville Baptist Church
5201 Montgomery St,
Savannah, Georgia 31415
If you will be unable to attend, you can send a letter of condolence to the Davis Family. The letters to the Davis should be sent to:
“I am Troy Davis”
P.O.
Box 2105
Savannah,
GA 31407
In lieu of flowers, donations may be mailed to:
I AM TROY FUND
Capitol
City Bank
339 MLK, Jr., Blvd.
Savannah,
Georgia 31401
Troy’s story touched countless hearts and minds. When commenting on Troy Davis’ execution, Larry Cox, Amnesty International executive director, offered that, importantly, the massive movement that developed around this case offers an opportunity to question this country’s values. This tragedy offers a chance to engage more people who are repulsed that the state would murder in our names and yet remain silent about it. “We have to take people who were against the death penalty and never did anything about it,” Larry Cox told Amy Goodman of Democracy NOW, and mobilize them. “Now is the time.”
As Kai Wright and Jamilah King wrote in their provocative and thought-provoking article entitled “The Long, Murderous Arm of the Law Has Killed Troy Davis” in Colorlines, “Davis’ case offers a bracing and depressing illustration of capital punishment’s many problems.” In the State of Georgia’s “…eagerness to prosecute a black man, [Troy Davis], for murdering a white police officer, [Mark Allen MacPhail], local officials set in motion a
killing machine that, once turned on, is near impossible to halt without executive intervention. Much has already been written about the details of Davis’s case; no reasonable observer can deny there is significant doubt as to his guilt. But our criminal justice system is anything but reasonable. Those who don’t come into contact with it can sit in self-satisfied assurance that our cops and courts measure out blind justice that keeps society well ordered. The evidence simply does not support that fantasy, as Davis’s life and death so dreadfully illustrate. In fact, if we are to judge our criminal justice system by its outcomes, it is built to round up masses of black men, transfer public funds to private companies to warehouse them, and then kill them in cold blood.”
With that said, here are three (3) important things you can do RIGHT NOW to advance the fight to stop the death penalty:
1) Sign the pledge (NAACP and/or Amnesty International) and join the movement to eradicate death penalty.
2) Contact your local Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinators (pdf). Ask about the death penalty in your state and how you can get involved locally.
3) Reach out to other death penalty organizations operating in your state/country. Find out more information.
Amnesty International Pledge:
“Not in my name” <http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.7741827/k.62FF/Not_in_my_Name_Pledge/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=7741827&en=dmIPI6PPJcIYLgOSLbKULiM9LvL9KmN4LtI9LqNaIAK>
Source(s): www.colorlines.org. www.rockstarfresh.com. www.truthout.org. NAACP. Amnesty International.
Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art
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