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USA: Amnesty International Condemns Parole Board Decision to Allow the Execution of Troy Davis

Amnesty International
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, September 12, 2008

Amnesty International Condemns Parole Board Decision to Allow the Execution of Troy Davis
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Organization Calls on U.S. Supreme Court to Intervene

Contact: Wende Gozan at 347/526-5520 or Jared Feuer at 404/668-8388

[Atlanta] – Amnesty International (AIUSA) today condemned in the strongest possible terms the decision to deny clemency to Troy Anthony Davis. The human rights organization, after attending today’s clemency hearing, called the decision a baffling and unbelievable perversion of justice.

“Nobody in that Parole Board room could have walked out today knowing with certainty that Davis committed murder,” said Jared Feuer, southern regional director for Amnesty International USA, who attended the clemency hearing. “The parole board went against its pledge to prevent the execution of any person where there is doubt as to his guilt.”

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing an off-duty Savannah police officer, despite the fact that police never produced a murder weapon and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. Following his conviction, seven of the nine original witnesses have either recanted or changed their testimony in sworn affidavits; one of the remaining two is alleged to be the actual killer.

“It is baffling that this decision could have been rendered in a case that has completely unraveled, and is now leaving a shameful stain on Georgia’s reputation,” said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. ”The U.S. Supreme Court must intervene immediately and unequivocally to prevent this perversion of justice.”

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For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org.

If you are inclined, please urge the board to reconsider