Death Penalty

Hip-hop artist, Andre Latallade, also known as Capital-X, will walk 1700 miles through 10 of the states with the highest execution rate to advocate for the abolishment of capital punishment in the US. Latallade has decided to begin his "walk for life" on March 31 at  5 a.m at the state house in Trenton, NJ. His final destination is the governor's mansion in Austin, TX--what he dubs the "busiest killing state in the country".

This Brooklyn born Puerto Rican, estimates that it will take him around 52 days, walking 8 hours a day minimum, to complete his journey. He will take one break for 3 days about one-third of the way to participate in the Hip Hop Association's HHEAL Festival in the Bronx, New York.

His objective is to build a bridge between two groups of victims: the executed and their families, and the victims and families of violent crimes. Latallade said, "separated, we call for life or death. I say we unite and call for solutions. I think it can bring unity. Unite everybody that is fighting injustice, and keep that unity till the end."

Moreover he sees this as an opportunity to educate people on the death penalty which is way Capital-"X" will try to raise funds from this event to support the creation of educational material in addition to help murder victim's families and abolitionist groups.

Anyone interested in supporting "X" and uniting in this cause to Stop Capital Punishment, can email Andre at projectrevolution2010@gmail.com or visit his MySpace page. You can also walk side by side to him to advocate for this good cause. But if the good cause is not enough to convince you to walk 1700 miles, which is understandable, think of it as walking with your iPod or as if you were filming the remake of Forrest Gump's run. Just support the abolition of the death penalty, any way you can or want because the capital punishment is arbitrary, unfair, not a deterrence of crime, more costly than life imprisonment and can take the life of an innocent human being. It is an irrevocable human rights violation that united, we can put a stop to it.

~Tania, DP Intern

Troy Davis presented the Supreme Court of Georgia with new evidence - recantations from nearly every witness that testified against him at trial, plus multiple affidavits claiming that another (one of the two remaining witnesses) was the actual murderer. The Georgia Supreme Court dismissed these recantations, not because they did not raise doubts as to the guilt of the accused, but as a result of legalities.  You can see a good summary of the Court's opinion of each recantation in Monday's Atlanta Journal Constitution.

For example, the Court favored trial testimony over recantations because memory is more trustworthy closer to the time of the crime. While it is true that closer to an incident one remembers it better, the Court did not take into consideration that in this specific case it is not a matter of memory. Witnesses now cannot identify Davis as the killer not because their memories are getting blurred over time but because now they are finally telling the truth! These witnesses stated in affidavits that they accused Troy Davis in the original trial because they were coerced by the police or threatened by "Red" Coles.

Also, the Georgia Supreme Court stated that for the affidavit or recantation to outweigh the original trial testimony, it needed to show that the trial testimony had been the "purest fabrication". The latter is a legal standard impossible to meet because if a detail of what they said in their original testimony was true then their testimony was not a pure fabrication. Since the original testimony had some truth in it, as the Court claimed, it was dismissed without accepting that this raised doubts as to the guilt of the accused.

In addition, the Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed some of the new evidence because Davis was supposed to come forward with it in the trial court sooner, at least before his federal habeas proceedings began.

Please read AI's report and the Supreme Court opinion. In the latter, you will keep finding peculiarities like how testimonies incriminating Coles are dismissed because of other legalities like: "declarations of third persons to the effect that the declarant, and not the accused, was the actual perpetrator of the offense are not admissible in favor of the accused at this trial". But these statements should have been enough to raise doubt and allow a new trial.

These legalities can take away the life of a man who well may be innocent. The Georgia Supreme Court unfortunately overlooked the evidence that proved reasonable doubt and it denied a new trial. Now it is all in the hands of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.  

On July 16, 2007 the Board stated:

The members of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused; 

The key words here are: "convinced that there is NO DOUBT as to the guilt of the accused". All the recantations and new evidence suggests that there is doubt as of the guilt of Troy Davis. Even three of the Judges of the Georgia Supreme Court joined in a dissent of the resolution which reaffirms, in conjunction with all the evidence, that there is doubt. Which is why I say to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles "you said it, now follow through".

The Supreme Court of Georgia was not accepting reasonable doubt but the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles must, which is why I ask you to join our efforts in requesting the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to honor its own words and grant Troy Davis clemency.

~Tania, DP Intern

An update to Urgent Action 179/07 ...

Mokarrameh Ebrahimi was released from Choubin prison in Qazvin province, northwestern Iran, on 17 March, along with her youngest child, a son named Ali, who was living in prison with her.

Mokarrameh Ebrahimi had been imprisoned for 11 years. She was sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of adultery, along with Ja'far Kiani with whom she had two children. Ja'far Kiani was stoned to death on 5 July 2007.

The executions by stoning of the couple were initially scheduled for 17 June 2007. The stonings were to be carried out publicly in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, in the town of Takestan in Qazvin province in the presence of a judge from the court which sentenced them to death.

Activists from Iran's Stop Stoning Forever campaign publicized the plans for this public execution, which led to a widespread domestic and international outcry, including from Amnesty International.  On 20 June, news reports stated that the Head of the Judiciary had issued a written order requiring the judiciary in Takestan to stay the execution temporarily. However, on 5 July Ja'far Kiani was stoned to death in Aghche-kand, a village outside Takestan. In mid-October 2007, the Head of the Judiciary sent Mokarrameh Ebrahimi's case to the Amnesty and Clemency Commission, who have now ordered her release. She is believed to have been pardoned by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Shadi Sadr, leader of the "Stop Stoning Forever" campaign, said, "It was a rare ruling... I cannot tell how the commission came up with this decision... But you cannot deny the role of public opinion and domestic and international pressures."

According to Amnesty International's sources, at least ten women - Iran, Khayrieh, Kobra N, Fatemeh, Ashraf Kalhori, Shamameh Ghorbani, Leyla Ghomi, Hajar and sisters Zohreh and Azar Kabiri-niat - are still at risk of being stoned to death, along with two men - Abdollah Farivar and an unnamed Afghan national.

Since the "Stop Stoning Forever" campaign was launched on 1 October 2006, six people have been saved from stoning: Hajieh Esmailvand (see UA 336/04, MDE 13/053/2004, 16 December 2004, and follow-ups), Soghra Mola'i, Parisa (see UA 257/06, MDE 13/111/2006, 28 September 2006, and follow-up), Parisa's husband, Najaf, Zahra Reza'I and  Mokarrameh Ebrahimi. Others have been granted stays of execution, and some of the cases are being reviewed or re-tried. Activists in the campaign have faced repression.

A new version of the Iranian Penal Code is under consideration by the Majles (parliament) which, if passed, would appear to allow for stoning sentences to be changed to execution by other means or flogging.

For more information, see Iran: End Executions by Stoning (AI Index MDE 13/001/2008): http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/001/2008/en/2b087fb2-c2d2-11dc-ac4a-8d7763206e82/mde130012008eng.pdf.

Many thanks to all who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the UA network.

Many of you who read this blog have been following the case of Troy Davis - on death row in Georgia for over 16 years despite strong evidence that he may be innocent.  Troy came within 24 hours of execution last July before receiving a temporary stay of execution.  Two weeks later the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear his extraordinary motion for a new trial. 

Today, Monday March 17, 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court denied his appeal.  This means that Georgia is once again poised to execute a possibly innocent man.  Many have worked tirelessly on this case, and we are stunned and devastated by the news.  Please take action here, and see our press release below.

Amnesty International USA Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Monday, March 17, 2008

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DECRIES RULING IN TROY DAVIS CASE

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GA Supreme Court Decision is 'Simply Stunning;' U.S. 'Has Shrugged Off the Very Notion of Justice at Every Level' in Davis Case

Contact: Wende Gozan at 212-633-4247

Or Jared Feuer at 404-876-5661 x14

(Atlanta) -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) decried today's Georgia Supreme Court decision to deny a new trial for Troy Anthony Davis, who has been on death row for more than 16 years despite significant concerns regarding his innocence. The human rights organization, which has collected more than 60,000 petition signatures while campaigning for Davis, said the ruling demonstrates a blatant disregard for justice, and asserted that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles must grant clemency in his case.

"The claim that evidence in Davis' favor was not sufficient to reopen his case is simply stunning," said Larry Cox, executive director of AIUSA. "In turning a blind eye to the realities of the case, the legal system has shrugged off the very notion of justice at every level, from Savannah to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Board of Pardons must recognize that a blind adherence to technicalities cannot trump a concerted search for the truth, especially when a human being's life is at stake."

The Georgia State Supreme Court decided 4-3 against a new trial or evidentiary hearing, with the majority ruling that the Savannah trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Davis' extraordinary motion for new trial without first conducting a hearing.

Amnesty International maintains that the case has been tainted from the start, with a questionable police investigation, a lack of funding to ensure adequate defense, and an increasingly restrictive appeals process, which has thwarted attempts to present new evidence in the case. In the wake of the state Supreme Court decision, the human rights organization is once again calling for the Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles to commute the death sentence for Davis due to the troubling facts of the conviction.

Troy Davis was convicted of the murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail in 1991. Davis was convicted solely on the basis of witness testimony, and seven of the nine non-police witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony. No murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. Several cited police coercion, and others fear of one of the remaining two witnesses, whom they allege actually committed the crime.

"With this decision, the Supreme Court is ignoring the fundamental flaws that underlie the death penalty in Georgia and in Troy Davis's case," said Jared Feuer, Southern Regional Director of AIUSA. "As a result, we will continue to advocate for a re-examination of his sentence and of Georgia's use of capital punishment. Officer MacPhail's life was cut tragically short, and his family and the people of Georgia deserve justice. This will not be accomplished by executing a man with a strong case of innocence."

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To read the Amnesty International report, 'Where is the Justice for Me? The case of Troy Davis, facing execution in Georgia,' or to hear audio of Mr. Davis, please visit www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis.

For two years in a row, Maryland has been the set of a controversial debate in which opponents are trying to get Maryland's death penalty overturned in the legislature. Yesterday, Thursday March 6, 2008, Maryland's Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard two bills related to the death penalty.

One of the bills was sponsored by Sen. Lisa Gladden, D-Baltimore and 15 other senators. It proposed the repeal of the death penalty stating that the abolition of the latter would help the families of murder victims by shortening trials and would also save the state money. "It's an inexcusable waste of resources in Maryland... You have the opportunity to settle the case, close the door and say, 'I never want to deal with this guy again,' Gladden argued.

If passed, the law would commute the sentences of the state's five inmates awaiting execution to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But it is important to mention, that a similar bill was introduced last year and it failed in committee despite supporting testimony from Gov. Martin O'Malley.

The second bill was proposed by Sen. Jamin Raskin, D-Montgomery. The purpose of this bill is to form a commission that will study the state's death penalty and explore alternatives to it. It was intended to provide for further study of Maryland's capital punishment system if the death penalty is not repealed by passage of Gladden's proposal.

Ironically, the strongest advocates for the bill were former death penalty supporters whose minds were changed after a loved one was killed and survivors had to go through years of trials and appeals. Their arguments were mostly based on the fact that the money the money that goes into supporting the death penalty would be better spent helping families recover from their losses, providing counseling and creating programs to decrease criminality.

But opponents of the bill argued that a repeal of the death penalty would mean more violence in prison among inmates already serving life sentences. In addition, they stated that salaries for lawyers, judges and others associated with death penalty cases would be constant whether Maryland continues the death penalty or not. Ultimately they said, that eliminating the state's strongest penalty would shift all sentences down as defense attorneys try to downgrade clients' penalties; resulting in fewer life without parole sentences.

The debate will continue. But a detail to remember is that our argument against the death penalty is based on facts and numerous research; the opponents of the bill only have speculations, no facts to support their argument. Hopefully one of these bills becomes law taking the United States a step toward the complete abolition of the death penalty.

~Tania, DP Intern

Today I received an unexpected email but one of the most gratifying emails I have received in a long time. Martina Davis-Correia, sister of Georgia Death Row Inmate Troy Anthony Davis, wrote a very compelling letter to thank everyone for the international support given to her brother. I want to share with you some of her thoughts:

                "I would like to take the time to thank everyone, especially the children from around the world who took the time to send Troy holiday greetings through Amnesty International's Individuals at Risk Program. Every time we visit my brother, my family picks ups stacks of cards and letters to bring home, because Troy cannot keep them all in his cell, but he has taken the time to read every single letter and card. Troy has this issue, that he wants to write everyone back to say thank you and he makes a valiant effort to that regard. I asked my brother if I could help him respond to some of his mail, because he feels that it is essential for him to write everyone back.

So as I began looking at the postmarks and addresses from all over the world, I am blown away, utterly speechless but what touches me is the cards from all the schools and the children from around the world. As I opened a large envelope from a school, inside I found all these hand made cards, colored with crayons making a Giant Smiley Face of what appears to be the Sun, mountains, sunrises etc. There are handmade cards with glitter, full of creativity from Amnesty student groups, girl scouts, elementary, middle, high schools and colleges.

 As I read each card I began to cry tears of joy and I can only imagine how happy this has made Troy and now I understand why he wants to write everyone back. I am so happy that these will be some of the people leading our countries in the future.

I am going to make Troy a collage of these cards and letters, probably the size of my wall, but I will make sure that when he is Free, I will present him with this magnificent display of human kindness.

 Thank you for all your prayers and for all the warmth you have given to Troy Anthony Davis". --Martina Davis-Correia

Who would have thought, that in this era of computers and technology, a hand written letter could still bring someone so much happiness?  For Troy Davis and his family, these letters meant hope and it gave them strength to go on.

Martina Davis is thanking, as well as Amnesty International, all the people that have taken some time out of their busy schedule to write a letter to Troy Davis. Your letters have made a difference and maybe some day it would lead to his freedom. Keep writing and participating of our campaigns. This is a non-violent and correct way of taking justice in to your own hands. Your letters and support can bring about the justice that the death penalty cannot. Letters can free a prisoner of conscience, can strengthen an individual and can stop torture. Letters bear witnesses, improve prison conditions and demonstrate that there is a global community concerned for human rights.

~Tania, DP Intern