Troy Davis march and rally

Hundreds of people marched from Woodruff Park down Auburn Avenue to the Ebenezer Baptist Church Thursday evening to protest the upcoming execution of Troy Davis. Seven of the nine witnesses who originally identified him as the killer have recanted their testimony. Chants of “We are Troy Davis” reverberated throughout the Auburn neighborhood. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, a service included speeches and prayer.

Davis’ older sister, Martina Davis Correia, described a call she had received Thursday from the president of France, who asked for more details about the case. She also alluded to the case being brought up at the United Nations Friday. But after years of fighting against her brother’s conviction, she seemed ready to face her brother’s death. “No matter what happens on the 23rd” she said, “we all win. We are going to dismantle the death penalty in Georgia.”

After the Board of Pardons and Parole refused Davis’ request for clemency last Friday, his only chance for a stay of execution is the state Supreme Court (it ruled in march 4-3 against allowing new evidence to be considered), the U.S. Supreme Court and President George Bush. Davis avoided execution last year when, less then 24 hours before he was sentenced to die, the parole board granted a stay. The demonstration Thursday ended with people joining hands and singing “We Shall Overcome.”

(Photo By Joeff Davis)