"Die-In" protesters laying at the foot of a war memorial, in front of the Slappy Floyd White Building in downtown Atlanta, Sept. 23, 2008. (Dave Bender)
Supporters of death row inmate Troy Davis held a “Die-In” in downtown Atlanta today. Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 pm.
A group of demonstrators called “Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty,” collapsed in deathly poses at the entrance to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles at the Slappy Floyd White building, downtown.
Police requested they move their protest away from the entrance of the structure, where they blocked an entryway. The protesters got up and walked over to a war memorial several yards away, where they re-enacted their protest, and spoke with reporters.
The 15 college-aged protesters carried signs and wore tee-shirts saying, “Don’t Murder In Our Name.”
Organizer Asha Lyon says their protest’ is meant to send an eleventh-hour plea:
“It is not too late for them to change their mind and issue a stay or clemency for Troy Davis today before seven p.m.”
A State Police patrolman escorts protest group leader Asha Lyon away from the entrance of the Slappy Floyd White building in downtown Atlanta, Sept. 23, 2008. One of the protesters is seen at the lower left, laying at the foot of the entrance, as part of their "Die-In" protest. (Dave Bender)
Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the killing of a Savannah police officer two years earlier.
7 of the 9 witnesses in the trial have changed their stories and Davis’s lawyers have tried to get a new trial.
Davis’s sister, Martina Correia, says, “My brother Troy is in a very strong place and he’s very faithful and close to God. Even though it’s very hard, we’re very blessed because we’re still holding on to hope.”Their last hope is the U.S. Supreme Court where a stay of execution request is pending.
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