Friday, August 27, 2010

Am I Not Human: Turning To the Media to Free Troy Davis




Amnesty International has reported Troy's appeal has been denied. Our hope now lays in raising alot of news in the media. Where there's a will, there's a way. Please pick up your pen, or engage your keyboard.


Amnesty's Talking Points:

Alert the media! Troy Davis must not be executed!

Federal Judge William T. Moore, Jr., has ruled that Troy Davis did not meet the very high standard to "clearly establish" his innocence at the hearing held in Savannah on June 23-24.

The hearing did not erase doubts about Troy Davis' guilt; those doubts persist, but for the moment, Troy's death sentence stands. Write a letter to your local newspapers expressing your concern that an execution could still be carried out, despite these continuing doubts about Troy Davis' guilt.

• Troy Davis may be back on track for execution following the August 24th decision of a federal judge to reject his petition
• With no physical evidence, Troy Davis had to prove his innocence by relying on witnesses whose credibility was called into question by the judge, yet they were the very people whose testimony put Davis on death row
• The hearing did not resolve doubts about Troy Davis' guilt; no execution should go forward when there is so much doubt and uncertainty
• This case illustrates why the death penalty is fundamentally flawed and should be abolished

Letter-writing Tips
Make it your own. Use these talking points as a guide, but put your letter in your own words. Try to frame your letter as a response to a recent article, editorial, or event covered by your newspaper.

Keep it short. Most newspapers will only accept letters of 150-200 words.

Pick one angle: You likely have many reasons for believing what you are advocating for, but you only have 250 words to tell your side of the story. Pick just one reason and tailor the LTE to fit that choice.

Make sure to give your contact details, including phone number. (Phone numbers will not be published; editors generally call authors to confirm the validity of the letter before publishing.)
to save a copy of your letter and try again with another newspaper.



On behalf of Troy Davis, I ask: