A day to rally for Troy Davis

THOUSANDS OF people across the U.S. and around the world rallied in support of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis for an international day of action May 19.

Troy has faced three execution dates in the past two years, and could soon face another following a federal court's rejection of his appeal. Troy could go to the death chamber without the courts ever hearing persuasive evidence of his innocence--including the fact that seven of nine witnesses who testified against him at his trial have recanted, and that a number of people now say they have heard another man admit to the killing of an off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer that Troy is accused of.

Troy's case has touched people around the world, and the global day of action last week was another sign of how he has come to represent all the injustices of the U.S. death penalty system to people around the world.

According to organizers, there were more than 150 actions taking place for Troy on May 19, including in most states in the U.S., and 28 countries around the world.

In Atlanta, some 1,200 people gathered in front of the Georgia capitol building to support Troy in his struggle against the injustice system.

As ground zero in the Troy Davis case, Atlanta has drawn large demonstrations of his supporters before, but this was certainly one of the biggest. A diverse coalition, including Amnesty International and the NAACP, drew out large numbers of people, who heard from a range of speakers, including political leaders and representatives of different organizations.

Troy's sister, Martina Correia, who has led the struggle win justice for her brother, spoke to the crowd. "Every time they smite Troy, you get stronger, you get louder," she said. "We have to start marching. We need to start telling people we're not going to take this anymore."

In Washington, D.C., a crowd of more than 100 activists packed a town hall forum and vigil to demand justice for Troy.

Shujaa Graham, a former death row prisoner in California and life-long civil rights activist, spoke movingly at the meeting, which was organized by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and Amnesty International. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for people like yourself," he said.

Those who attended were thrilled by a surprise live call-in from Troy himself. Troy expressed his gratitude and told activists that we've already won an important victory by raising global awareness about his case and the systemic injustices that it represents.

Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, explained that Troy's case represents everything that is wrong with the death penalty and the criminal justice system. "It's an arrogant system," Cox said, "a system that would rather kill an innocent human being than admit that it made a mistake."

The rally ended with a performance by hip hop artist Son of Nun. Mike Stark, a leading member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty in Maryland and the emcee for the event, reminded the gathering that the one thing standing between Troy and the death chamber is us. "And we will not let them executive Troy Davis on our watch," he said.

In New York City, as many as 400 people came to a demonstration for Troy. Among the speakers were former death row prisoner Lawrence Hayes and Yusef Salaam, who was exonerated in the Central Park jogger case. Members of the Welfare Poets hip-hop group performed as well.

Plans were made for activists to come together to discuss the next stage in the struggle to save Troy.

In Chicago, around 50 people came out to a demonstration in support of Troy at Federal Plaza downtown. Later in the evening, another 50 attended an event at DePaul University on the north side to show their support.

In San Diego, around 20 people, representing several different organizations, came out on a few day's notice to make their voices heard for Troy

The solidarity with Troy wasn't limited to the U.S. There were protests in countries around the world, including Argentina, Britain, Mexico, France, Germany and Australia.

For example, in the Germany city of Heidelberg, more than 400 death penalty opponents demonstrated for Troy, occupying the "Old Bridge" in the historic center of the town.