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Join us on Human Rights Day to celebrate the 60th Anniversary Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Wednesday, December 10th
6pm
Auburn Avenue Research Library
101 Auburn Avenue NE
Performing Artists & Speakers include:
Kelly Love Jones-Songstress Tamara Madison-Poet T*Yana Kemyl-Poet
Tom Ferguson-Folk Singer Witt Wisebram-Folk Singer The Sedition Orchestra Stoni Taylor-Singer/Songwriter/Bandleader
Richard Omar and Doc Brown-Reggae performing artists
Anne Olson-Human Rights Advocate Alice Lovelace-50 Artists...
Azadeh Shahshahani-ACLU of Georgia
Human Rights Atlanta participating and supporting organizations
50 Artists ~ ACLU of Georgia ~ ACLU Voting Rights Project ~ African American Human Rights Foundation ~ African Women Health, Education and Empowerment center ~ American Constitution Society of Georgia ~ American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) ~ Amnesty International - Southern office ~ Amnesty International - Atlanta local group 75 ~ Alterna ~ Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE) ~ Atlanta Progressive News ~ Center for Pan-Asian Community Services (CPACS) ~ Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors ~ Coalition of Latino Leaders (CLIA) ~ Cobb Immigrant Alliance ~ Council on American-Islamic Relations - Georgia Chapter ~ First Iconium Baptist Church ~ Frederick Douglass Family Foundation ~ Georgia Appleseed ~ Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) ~ Georgia Asylum and Immigration network (GAIN) ~ Georgia Citizen's Coalition on Hunger ~ Georgia Detention Watch ~ Georgia Equality ~ Georgia for Democracy ~ Georgia Human Rights Union ~ Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) ~ Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition/Atlanta ~ Georgia Rural Urban Summit ~ Good Shepherd Services of GA ~ Georgia State Conference NAACP ~ Healthcare Now - Atlanta ~ Hernan, Taylor & Lee, LLC ~ International Action Center ~ International Center of Atlanta ~ Jobs with Justice ~ Latin American and Caribbean community center ~ Living Wage Coalition ~ MALDEF ~ Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America ~ Metro Atlanta Taskforce for the Homeless ~ National Council of Jewish Women - Atlanta Section National Lawyers' Guild - Georgia Chapter ~ Not for Sale Campaign - Georgia PH:ACTS - People's History Collective ~ Project South ~ Queer Progressive Agenda ~ Raksha ~ Refugee Family Services ~ Refugee Women's Network ~ Southern Center for Human Rights ~ Southern Christian Leadership Conference ~ Southern Poverty Law Center Immigrant Justice Project ~ Tapestri ~ Trikone Atlanta U.S Human Rights Network ~ Veterans for Peace, Chapter 125 ~ VSA Arts of Georgia ~ Women's Policy Group/Women's Policy Education Fund ~ Women's Watch Afrika
We support dignity and justice for all of us
Atlanta Unites for Human Rights
For more information
Posted on Dec 10, 2008 by Georgia Peace & Justice Network
1th Circuit Court of Appeals Grants Oral Argument for TROY DAVIS December 9th in Atlanta, Georgia at
Our system owes Troy Davis another day in court
By WILLIAM S. SESSIONS
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
It is wrong to execute an innocent man. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will now consider whether it is constitutional. Troy Anthony Davis, convicted of murder, is asking the courts to hear evidence that key government witnesses have repudiated their testimony against him. But so far the courts have decided that, while he may be innocent, procedural rules prevent them from taking a second look.
For 17 years, Troy Davis has been on Georgia’s death row for murdering a police officer. As the director of the FBI under Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and as a former federal judge, I believe that there is no more serious offense than the murder of a police officer. However, crucial unanswered questions surround claims of Davis’ responsibility for this terrible crime, and I believe that the execution should not go forward until the courts address them and determine whether he is in fact guilty.
Police never found a murder weapon. Seven of the nine nonpolice witnesses recanted or changed their original testimony. Some of these witnesses say police pressed them to implicate Davis. Some also point to another man, one of the two witnesses who continue to implicate Davis, as the real murderer.
Because these revelations came after Davis was convicted, court rules have prevented a full hearing on Davis’ claim of innocence. These rules, put in place to prevent endless appeals by the guilty, may also cut off a lifeline to the innocent.
read more...
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/11/18/sessionsed_1118.html
Posted on Nov 20, 2008 by Georgia Peace & Justice Network
Oct 24, 2008:Troy Receives a 25 Day Stay of Execution
Execution of Georgia Man in Killing of Officer Is Stayed a Third Time
By ROBBIE BROWN
October 25, 2008
ATLANTA — A federal appeals court on Friday halted the execution of a Georgia inmate convicted in the 1989 killing of a police officer, the third time in 16 months that a stay of execution has been ordered in the case.
The inmate, Troy A. Davis, 40, was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday for the murder of Mark A. MacPhail, a Savannah police officer.
In deciding to consider a new hearing for Mr. Davis, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, asked his lawyers to prove that no reasonable person today would find him guilty.
Since Mr. Davis’s conviction in 1991, seven witnesses have recanted their testimony, including two who said they had felt pressure by the police to testify against Mr. Davis and three who said a different man had admitted to the killing. Prosecutors presented no DNA evidence or murder weapon, although they linked bullet casings found at the scene to a gun they said Mr. Davis had used in an earlier shooting.
read more...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/us/25execute.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print
Posted on Oct 25, 2008 by Georgia Peace & Justice Network
Urgent - Urge Clemency for Troy Davis
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on September 23, even though his serious claims of innocence have never been heard in court.
Troy Davis was convicted of the murder of police officer Mark MacPhail solely on the basis of witness testimony, and seven of the nine non-police witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony, several citing police coercion. Others have signed affidavits implicating one of the remaining two witnesses as the actual killer. But due to an increasingly restrictive appeals process, none of this new evidence has ever been heard in court.
The failure of courts to hear the compelling evidence of innocence in this case means that massive doubts about Troy Davis' guilt will remain unresolved.
A clemency hearing is scheduled for September 12, which means the last day for petitions is September 11. Your urgent action is required today—help save Troy's life!
Take action now at Amnesty International Website by signing the petition
http://go.care2.com/e/0dSh/whxt/lmWA
Posted on Sep 11, 2008 by Georgia Peace & Justice Network