28 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

NAACP invokes Troy Davis legacy in anti-death penalty drive

originally by: Blackstarnews.com
published: 23rd Jamuary 2012

Motivated by the tragic execution of Troy Davis in Georgia last September, the NAACP has renewed its fight to make the death penalty a part of America’s past. Over the next year, NAACP state representatives in several key states will urge their legislators to take the necessary steps to repeal the ultimate punishment.

“People in this country care about justice and fairness,” says Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the National NAACP. “Unfortunately, Troy Davis’s case and too many other cases in our country demonstrate that these elements are sorely lacking in the application of capital punishment in this nation. African Americans and the poor are disproportionately handed this extreme punishment for the same offenses as their wealthier or White counterparts.”

1 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Capital punishment on the decline in Texas

originally by: Star-Telegram
published: 26th December 2011

The American public’s opinion on the death penalty has been changing steadily in the past 17 years. A 2011 Gallup Poll showed that 61 percent of people in the country favor capital punishment, down from 80 percent in 1994. A majority of Americans still believe that capital punishment is a justified and proportionate option for those who commit the most heinous premeditated crimes.

But they also believe that if the state is going to exact a punishment from which there is no turning back, the criminal justice system must be as fair as humanly possible.

And when jurors are given an effective alternative to a sentence of death — life without the possibility of parole — they use it.

5 December 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Troy Davis’ sister dies of cancer

originally by: Your Black Woman
published: 2nd December 2011

Martina Davis-Correia, sister of the late Troy Davis, has died. Davis-Correia passed after a long battle with cancer and was the firestorm that took her brother’s case to international heights. Although few people initially paid attention to the faulty murder conviction of this young black male in Georgia, Davis’ sister dedicated her life to fighting for her brother’s freedom.

Davis was killed by lethal injection on September 21 of this year. The execution was covered by international media, and there are millions around the world who consider the execution of Davis to be one of the most symbolic indicators of injustice in American history.