Adventist Troy Davis is scheduled to die on Tuesday September 23, 2008 for the death of a Georgia Police officer. Amnesty International held a rally in his behalf. Filmmaker Terry Benedict and Adventist Mission Pilot David Gates proclaim his innocence.
What can we do?
Pray.

Read more about the case here
http://religiousliberty.tv/on-september-23-2008-an-innocent-man-is-scheduled-to-die.html

and email the Georgia Appeals Board here:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis
this weekend.
Lauralea

Hey it is terrible to hear this. I don t want to raise false expectations, i have never been able to do something valuable in my life before, but maybe there is something we can do.

At university i am studying human rights. I just happen to know that states actually don t give a damn about human rights except when it is in their own interests to do so. From a legal international point of view it is very likely that the USA, after the circumstances in Guantanamo Bay, Irag etc. is not willing to suffer more international prestige damage. So in order to safe Troy davis we have to make this case public internationally, then they will cancel the execution because it is in the USA its own interest to do so. In 2006 the Human Rights Commission was exchanged for the improved Human Rights council. In this council it is possible for individuals and Non governmental organisations to come up with possible violations of Human rights. It is too bad the USA is not a member of this new body, but this does not really matter because it is about prestige. So somebody, David Gates, the Adventist Church, Amnesty international, or any person should contact the human rights council as soon as possible and tell them what is going on. Then this council will examine this case, meaning other states, like Cuba, are able to criticize the USA internationally. The only way the USA can prevent this, is if they cancel the execution.

Please, i don t know much, but i do know this. Don t count on the concious of local authorities, go to the human Rights Council. It is the only chance you have got. Of course we need Gods help with this, but i think this is a very good possibility.

So if anyone wants to tell some authorities what i have just written down here and keep contact with them, in the meantime i will look for further info. I think you better can contact David Gates and Amnesty int. so they can both contact the human rights council. David Gates should also use his international television stations to draw international attention to this case. In this way people from all countries will send letters to the human rights Council and the US government, exposing the USA to further criticism.

Here is a link to Amnesty International that tells about the case and some contact information for writing letters, etc.:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/...11032008en.html

I have followed this case for a few months through Amnesty International, but I didn't realize he's an Adventist. Surely there are people on this forum who can write a letter and forward the information to others.

Thank you both of you. Amnesty International held a meeting of support there in Georgia for him. I do not know if the Human Rights Foundation has more impetus or not, but it looks like they have members from different countries, but the countries are not members themselves. I will pray about it.
And let's pray for him. I guess it could take a commutation of his sentence, which the Georgia parole board did in May 3 hours before a scheduled execution.
We could also email the governor, here http://www.emailyourgovernor.com/georgia-governor-sonny-perdue.html
Laura

I guess I'll ask a stupid question.... Is he guilty? Which doesn't mean that I won't pray for God's will to be done.

pk

Did you read the case? I don't know that anyone can say for sure, but most of the witnesses have recanted their testimony against him. And I believe there was no other evidence against him besides the witness testimonies.

Amnesty International's primary concern in these kinds of situations is that people get a fair trial. They are against the death penalty, but they do not normally get involved unless it appears the trial was not fair. It appears pretty strongly that Troy Adams did not get a fair trial and is probably innocent of the charges.

Gates is a decent individual.

thanks for the info, and no I did not read the case. I'm going to google him and see what I get.

pk

You can start by clicking on the links that Lauralea provided. Let us know if you find out anything interesting.

Do you know when Troy Davis became a Seventh-day Adventist?

As I said, I did not even know he is SDA until Lauralea posted it. I had been following the case through Amnesty International for a few months. Of course, AI's work for him has nothing to do with his being SDA, but the fact that there are serious questions with the proving of his guilt.

Well I googled and read some interesting things. After reading I'm convinsed that he is innocent. Its almost if not worse than the ruben carter coverup. And he's going to be put to death on my birthday no less. This is really sad.

pk

Yet another good reason to be against the death penalty.

I heard last week that Dallas is going to re-evaluate all their death row cases because of the number of death row prisoners nationwide who have been set free based on DNA evidence. So they are going to submit all the evidence to DNA scrutiny. On the other hand, Houston's crime unit is so corrupt that all the evidence has been destroyed, so there is not much hope for those death row prisoners.

Until I have a lot more faith in the court system, I can't support the death penalty.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty. That's weak. How are they going to have any influence at all in this case? They have no credibility if they have such ridiculous ideals.

Is there any other organization that can try to help? This guy doesn't have a chance if his fate depends on how many people Amnesty International can convince that we need to abolish the death penalty.

I believe the guy deserves a re-trial. It would be a tragedy if he dies. The other guy is probably guilty.

We know the accusers don't want to look like they made a mistake, especially if the man lost 17 years of his life. How do you depend on his forgiveness? How do you pay the restitution. You take 17 years of a man's life. Now you really look like the bad guys who don't care about anyone but yourselves, and who have no compassion at all.

It's easier for them to harden their hearts and fabricate a reality and stick to their story and just condemn an innocent man, whom they have fully convinced themselves is guilty.

I've seen this before. It's like if you step on a baby bird that was kicked out of his nest. You think about how much trouble it would take to fix the damage you caused and to nurse it back to health. Then you think: "It's just a bird. There are so many.", so you just stomp on the bird and finish him off and save yourself alot of trouble.

Especially if it's just a black bird.

Troy Davis, may your death not be in vain. Let the people know that you forgive your accusers, so you can represent Jesus:

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Maybe you need to read my post again to see what I really said. Yes, Amnesty International is against the death penalty, but they normally do not try to influence a judgment once it is made except if they think it was not a fair trial. The reason they are involved with this case is because it does not appear to have been a fair trial - not because they are against the death penalty. They are not trying to tell the State of Georgia to abolish their death penalty. They are asking them to review the case.

It looks like Jimmy Carter is weighing in:

"Jimmy Carter Urges Georgia to Stay Execution of Troy Davis

"Former President Jimmy Carter has called on the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to reverse its decision to deny clemency to Troy Davis who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. Since Davis was convicted of allegedly killing a police officer in 1991, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted. No physical or DNA evidence ties Davis to the crime. Jimmy Carter said, "This case illustrates the deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country. Executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice.” In Atlanta, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the NAACP are planning to hold a rally today in front of the State Capitol.

"Georgia is planning to execute Davis on Tuesday, even though the US Supreme Court is scheduled to decide next week on whether to hear a last-minute appeal in his case."

[Democracy Now!]

Yes I agree with you about the death penalty in most cases, unless its absolutely without question the person commited the crime.

pk

With God's will I hope that President Jimmy Carter can stop it.

Seems to me that if they wait until next week it will be to late!!!!!

pk

I know, that doesn't make sense.

I realize Amnesty International is involved because it's not a fair deal, and not necessarily because they oppose the death penalty. I was just saying their opposition to the death penalty seems unrealistic and could impair their credibility.

However, given time to think about it a bit, it seems their views are just for political reasons. People just expect a group like that to be against the death penalty. And I'm sure people understand that even if they wanted to change their views, they couldn't, cause it's what people expect from them. And it's hard to change things like that.

I'm not opposed to the death penalty for cases that are proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
It makes sense.
It provides justice to those who have been very seriously hurt in some cases.
It saves money.
And it's the oldest penalty on earth:

Gen. 2:17 ...in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

And we see God imposing the death penalty and we justify God. We don't apologize for God, as if He was just in a bad mood back then.

We also see secular authority justified in the death penalty:

Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.
13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.

It's really not that evil. It's really normal.

I just want to be honest and biblical, not emotional. And I don't care about being popular.

Is that OK with everyone?

I agree with this statement 100%.

"I'm not opposed to the death penalty for cases that are proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt."

Did you read the case? I went to one of the links from above and read all I could. It's pretty obvious to me that he's not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt! It's worse than the case againist Ruben Carter. So I am praying that President Carter can help.

pk

Ya, I read the case. From the start I thought there was a good chance he's probably no guilty. I read the facts and was convinced all the more. I have told why I think sometimes innocent men are condemned. It's a conspiriacy.

John 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

Great to hear the Supreme Court has granted a stay! We'll see what happens next.

Thanks for sharing the good news. I hadn't heard it yet.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/amnesty-international-praises-stay-execution/story.aspx?guid=%7B566E0FEA-F03C-437B-ADFF-392A61D80385%7D&dist=hppr

According to the link above, the State of Georgia *purposely* scheduled the execution to happen before the Supreme Court was already scheduled to review the case. Talk about nasty and evil!!

It's probabaly pure economics. Having someone on Death Row is very expensive especially after appeal and appeal.

Praise the Lord.

pk

I think it's much more than economics, because the guy could be released if there is a retrial. Of course, the retrial would cost something, as well as opening up the case again, so ecomonics might be part of it.

But I suspect a lot of it is racism. I also think some of it is because it's a police officer who was killed, they *really* want someone to pay. And also, some politics and saving face enters in - they are loathe to admit that a mistake was made.

Amen to that! But keep praying....

According to the Dutch media, the pope is responsible for the reevalution of the Troy Davis Case. Praise the pope?

Sure, the pope does a lot of good things. So does the Catholic Church.

I agree, i think this pope, contrary to former popes, is a nice guy!

There you have it. They have to be seen supporting a fallen policeman. I REALLY doubt it has anything to do with race.

Have you ever been to Georgia, or anywhere in the South?

The Supreme Court is supposed to decide on Monday, Sept. 29, whether or not to review the case. If they decide no, then the State of Georgia may proceed with the execution. If they decide yes, then the execution is on hold pursuant to their review.

its to bad that we can't get Bob Dylan to see a song, hahaha But I am thankful that Jimmy Carter got this stopped. I don't always agree with what he does, but this is right.

pk

You mean like the one for Hurricane Carter?

Way

It's a good thing Dylan isn't blind. Because then he couldn't see a song at all.

yes absolutely.

pk

hahaha that's a good one. At first I couldn't understand what you where saying until I reread what I wrote. That's what I get for not checking my spelling. hahahahahaha

pk

No. I've spend most all of my life in the West. The county I am from claimed to have a total of 150 blacks. I am not sure where they came up with that many. I sure never saw them.

Trust me. Racism is very real in the South.

Unfortunately it's very real here in the west too.

Oh thank goodness. You had me thinking I'd broke my joke bone.

What does the Pope have to do with this case? Where did you hear this?

I was about to say thepopeisadope.com, but it looks like they took that domain out of service. That's evil.

http://www.sedo.com/search/details.php4?domain=thepopeisadope.com&partnerid=19016

http://www.popedope.com/

And ya race could have something to do with this in Georgia.

Here's an article from yesterday that spells it out pretty well:


"Troy Anthony Davis was scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday. Two hours before the state of Georgia was to execute him, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay until Monday. It had earlier agreed to hear Davis’ case on Sept. 29, but Georgia set his execution date six days before the hearing.

"Davis was charged with killing Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer, in Savannah, Ga., in 1989. Davis had gone to the aid of a homeless man who was being pistol-whipped in a parking lot. Seeing the gun, he said he fled. MacPhail, working security nearby, intervened next, and was killed. Davis, an African-American, claimed his innocence, but was found guilty and sentenced to death. Since his conviction, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony, alleging police coercion and intimidation in obtaining their testimony. By coming forward and recanting, they face serious repercussions, possibly jail time. Some have identified a different man as the shooter. This man is one of Davis’ remaining accusers.

"In July 2007, Davis faced his first execution date. Just a day before he was to be executed, the Georgia Pardons Board granted a stay of execution for up to 90 days. Then, Davis’ attorneys argued before the Georgia Supreme Court for a retrial or for a hearing to present new evidence. The requests were denied, by a 4-to-3 vote. In the same period, the U.S. Supreme Court was weighing whether death by lethal injection constituted cruel and unusual punishment (the court ultimately allowed its use).

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Monday whether it will take on Davis’ case. If it decides not to, he very likely will be executed.

Among Davis’ defenders is former President Jimmy Carter. He said: “This case illustrates the deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country. Executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice.” Georgia Congressman John Lewis also supports Davis."

[rant on the death penalty and racism omitted to save space - here's the link if you want to read the entire thing http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080924_troy_davis_and_the_supreme_decision/]

"According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973 there have been 130 people exonerated—people wrongly sentenced to death—in 26 different states, including five exonerated on death row in Georgia. Evidence even suggests that at least four innocent people have been executed in recent years. There is no physical evidence in the Troy Davis case. After the stay was announced, Davis asked his mother to have people pray for the MacPhail family, and to keep working to dismantle this unjust system. He told her he wouldn’t be fighting this hard for his life if he were guilty. This is a case of reasonable doubt. Troy Davis deserves a new trial."

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700 stations in North America.

"It had earlier agreed to hear Davis’ case on Sept. 29."

Does anyone have an update?

Troy Davis case decision expected by Oct. 6
By BILL RANKIN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, September 29, 2008

When the U.S. Supreme Court meets Monday to decide Troy Anthony Davis’ fate, its nine justices face a fairly straightforward question: Is there sufficient doubt about Davis’ guilt to warrant further scrutiny of his case?

Davis needs four justices to vote “yes.” Otherwise, his execution, halted by the high court less than two hours before it was to be carried out Tuesday evening, will be rescheduled. The court is expected to announce its decision by Oct. 6.....

http://www.ajc.com/mero/content/metro/stories/2008/09/29/troy_davis_case.html

I'm going to pray for God's will to be done in this case.

pk

Here is an open letter that Troy Davis wrote to Amnesty International:


To all,

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!

-- Troy Davis

The United States Supreme Court ruled in a special emergency session last week to stay his execution until they could review his case. They will rule on whether he gets a new trial on Monday October 6. Five justices voted for the stay. He needs 4 votes for a new trial. There is hope. Please pray that God's will will be done, and that he will receive a new trial if this is the Lord's will. I pray also that the Lord will help the family of the police officer.
Lauralea

I appreciate your interest in getting us the information, Carolaa.

I couldn't help but trying to decide if this guy is probably an SDA or not. It's seem like not.



If he was SDA, it seems like he would say something like: "I'll see you at the resurrection", or "I'll see you when Jesus comes", or something like that.

I agree. I did a search of everything I could find on him, and I saw nothing indicating or suggesting that he is or ever was a Seventh-day Adventist.