A life hanging in the balance

THE U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide today whether or not to hear new evidence in the case of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis--a decision which could mean life or death for Troy as early as tonight.

Less than two hours before he was scheduled to die on September 23, the Supreme Court stepped in to grant an emergency stay until it could rule on whether or not new evidence should be heard. It was the second time in a little over a year that Troy came within hours of being put to death.

And if the justices decide at today's hearing not to take up Troy's case, that would clear the way for Troy's execution.

That Troy Davis is even still in prison, much less facing death, is a travesty of justice. No gun, DNA, fingerprints or physical evidence of any kind was used to convict Troy. He was found guilty because of the testimony of nine witnesses who claimed to have seen Troy murder off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989.

But seven of these witnesses have since recanted, with several saying that they were intimidated by police into making false statements. "I was real young at that time, and here they were questioning me about the murder of a police officer, like I was in trouble or something," said Monty Holmes, one of the seven witnesses to recant. "I was scared...It seemed like they wouldn't stop questioning me until I told them what they wanted to hear. So I did."

Of the two remaining witnesses, one says that Troy shot MacPhail with his left hand; Troy is right-handed. The other, Sylvester Coles, was initially a suspect in the murder himself--until he went to the police saying that Troy was the killer. Several people now claim to have heard Coles admit to the murder.

As Troy's sister and advocate, Martina Correia, told Democracy Now! after the emergency stay was granted, her brother's case raises fundamental questions about the treatment that African Americans receive at the hands of the justice system:

[W]e're still fighting. We're still holding on hope. But it's really hard to understand how I'm expected to raise my son in this state and in the city of Savannah when I know that because of the color of his skin, people feel that his worth is less than others...I don't understand how we can have a parole board appointed by the governor that's full of prosecutors and former police officers, and people expect us to have a fair shake. We always knew it was an uphill battle.

According to Correia, to add insult to injury, on the day of Troy's scheduled execution, prison officials suddenly told him he couldn't have any witnesses at his execution except his lawyer--despite the fact that prisoners are normally allowed to have five witnesses of their choosing. After Martina left her visit with him, Troy was also apparently restricted to making just two 15-minute phone calls for the remainder of what was supposed to have been the final day of his life.

TROY'S CASE has drawn the attention of activists and high-profile politicians speaking out against the fundamental injustices of what has taken place. Former President Jimmy Carter, Rev. Al Sharpton and others have made the trip to Georgia to personally call on officials to stop Troy's execution.

Also important has been the work of activists across the country calling attention to the problems in Troy's case and the inherent flaws of the death penalty. On September 29, as the Supreme Court considers Troy's case, activists in cities across the country--including Chicago; Atlanta; Savannah, Ga.; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; Philadelphia and elsewhere--will hold rallies and vigils to bring attention to Troy's case.

As a statement from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty notes, "In effect, what the Supreme Court justices will be deciding is whether it's okay to allow the execution of an innocent man if his appeals have expired. We think this is a no-brainer. If they look at the facts and make the right call, Troy lives. If they decline to hear the case, Troy could be executed that night, or the day after, or in the weeks to come, if Georgia sets a new execution date."

If four of nine justices decide, when the Court reviews the case on September 29, to accept Troy's petition for a writ of certiorari--a petition asking for the Court's judgment on whether the courts acted improperly on Constitutional grounds--then the full Court will review Troy's case and the lower court's actions.

If the Supreme Court finds that the lower courts acted improperly, the case would be sent back to the lower courts for a new trial or appeal. If the Court finds in its review that the lower courts acted properly, however, the way would be cleared for Georgia to once again seek Troy's execution.

And if the Supreme Court decides not to grant Troy's writ at all, the way could be cleared for the state of Georgia to execute him almost immediately--since his current execution warrant doesn't expire until September 30. After then, the state of Georgia would have to return to court to ask for a new warrant.

The urgency around Troy's case means it's even more important that activists make their voices heard on his behalf.

"Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is deciding whether or not it's okay to execute an innocent man," said Julien Ball, an organizer for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. "The Supreme Court's already acted once to stop Troy's execution because they knew people around the country and the world were watching. That's why it's important for people to be out in the street and continuing to show that they are watching what happens in this case."

As Martina Correia told Democracy Now!:

[Troy] wants us to keep fighting. He says that he wants us to do--he told my son, who's 14, that he has to be his legacy if this execution goes through, that he wants him to be successful, to tell his story, so that people will know that this injustice and his life is not in vain.

He's still very hopeful, very optimistic and very thankful, but he knows that this is not just about Troy Davis--this is about a bigger system of injustice. And we have to stand up. We have to fight it...We have to start acting on what is unjust in this nation, because if we don't fight it, they're going to keep continuing with this stuff.