[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., UTAH, CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 24



ARIZONA:

Jodi Arias updates, death threats, media blackout, Sheriff Joe pulls full stop


Many are alleging that the First Amendment is licking its wounds today, after 
the ruling came out yesterday that Judge Sherry Stephens was maintaining a firm 
position on a previous ruling that blacked out the retrial of the penalty phase 
of the State versus Jodi Arias, trial for the murder of Travis Alexander. After 
media attorney David Bodney spent a year preparing his arguments asking Judge 
Stephens to rule on the side of the First Amendment, she listened politely but 
reverted back to a previous ruling that kept the trial under wraps from the 
media until after the verdict is read. As AZ Central reported on Sept. 22, "in 
other words, the reason is a secret."

In 2013 Jodi Arias was convicted of 1st degree murder for the brutal slaying of 
her lover then 33-year-old Travis Alexander. 34-year-old Jodi Arias was also 
found eligible for the death penalty in 2013, but her 2013 jury was deadlocked 
when it came to sentencing and could not pass a unanimous vote. Those 1st 2 
phases of the Jodi Arias trial were aired live and in open court. Since then 
however, Jodi Arias has been using camera motions among many other motions to 
delay the inevitable, her sentencing.

The camera motion before the courts has been to determine whether or not the 
live airing of the Jodi Arias trial could happen again. David Bodney has been 
arguing that it is a First Amendment right of the American people to see the 
sentencing phase of this trial live again. He has also argued that Arizona 
taxpayers who have shelled out over $2 million dollars for the defense alone in 
this trial, deserve the opportunity to see it shortly after the events occur.

The motions have been discussed in court at length since the May 2013 guilty 
verdict, with a final ruling on the matter this week. AZ Central reports that 
on the matter Judge Sherry Stephens says, "The court is mindful of its 
obligation to allow public and media access to the trial. The access should not 
include live broadcast of the trial prior to a verdict for the reasons 
addressed in prevoius sealed proceedings."

Or, as AZ Central said, in other words the reason she is keeping the trial from 
going live, is a secret. And yet some in favor of this decision are still 
arguing that Judge Stephens is ruling with transparency. AZ Central also said, 
"This is a gross overreaction and a dangerous one at that."

Judge Stephens is allowing tweeters and bloggers to use technology in the 
courtroom, and a camera will be taping the proceedings. The world will not be 
able to access a view of that however until after the verdict is read. AZ 
Central feels this is a dangerous precedent for a judge to set. The public 
outcry from this has echoed similar sentiments. Many of the public have 
speculated that an elected official is behaving very dangerously.

Do you agree?

There has been a growing consensus that Judge Sherry Stephens has been holding 
a bias for the defendant since day one. Many decisions seem to go the 
defendant's way, the camera ruling is just one example. Those following the 
case can cite many. Have they really gone her way though?

Judge Sherry Stephens is leaving no room for appeal, that is certainly evident. 
While to some that may seem she is favoring the defendant, in other areas it 
appears that she behaves very decisively and effectively. A motion on the case 
that came before the Maricopa County Superior Court yesterday showed that Judge 
Sherry Stephens is not about to set any more dangerous precedents.

Jennifer Wood court reporter and writer for The Trial Diaries wrote yesterday 
that Jodi Arias "jingle jangled" her way into court yesterday in her jail 
stripes and her shackles. Along with her defense team she appeared in court to 
argue a motion to compel and a motion to quash. The item in question in the 
motion to quash was a number of death threat letters allegedly sent to certain 
members of the press corps in addition to certain members of the defense team 
in Spring 2014.

Kirk Nurmi contended that a number of death threats had been received by 
members of the press corps Jane Velez Mitchell and Nancy Grace, as well as by 
himself and fellow defense team member Jennifer Willmott. He asked the courts 
to admit this information and these letters into evidence for the retrial of 
the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial.

Arguing for the State, Juan Martinez asserted that the matter of death threats 
was irrelevant to the penalty phase of the retrial of Jodi Arias and even said 
that for the defense to ask Judge Stephens to intervene on this matter was 
"inappropriate." Judge Stephens agreed, showing that she concedes that death 
threats to the press, or anyone, is a matter for law enforcement to deal with 
and irrelevant to the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial.

The death threats in question will be protected from the jury pool writes Jen 
Wood from the Trial Diaries. Jennifer also learned in court yesterday that the 
State has confirmed that Vernon Parker will be on their witness list. Vernon 
Parker is reportedly a Mormon Bishop from Riverside, California. From a cursory 
look online he is a revered and inspiring individual. It will be very 
interesting to see what he has to say in the retrial of the penalty phase of 
the Jodi Arias trial.

Do you think the death threat info is relevant? Do you find this information a 
little bit of a coincidence when we look back at how Jodi was manipulating the 
press in the Spring of 2014?

Many readers will remember when we reported that Jodi took a swing at the press 
and the result was an epic fail. Right around the same time that Nurmi and 
Nancy Grace were receiving death threats, Jodi Arias was allegedly filing 
restraining orders against the same parties. At least, that is what one of her 
co-horts attempted to leak to the media.

We reported on it in early May, that alleged defamation suits were being filed 
by Arias against Sheriff Joe Arpaio as he was allegedly causing her "imminent 
danger and bodily harm." Additionally Nancy Grace was allegedly the subject of 
a restraining order from Jodi Arias.

If that report, and what we learned about in court yesterday is true, that 
would mean that in March Nancy Grace received a death threat, and was then 
served a restraining order from Jodi Arias in May. Does that make sense to you? 
Likely not. Sheriff Joe Arpaio can be seen in the video here, debunking the 
spring news that Jodi Arias had filed a defamation suit against him.

That seems to be a growing trend shrouding the conspiracies and secrets of the 
Jodi Arias camp. We do know that death threats mentioned in court yesterday 
have been sealed and will have nothing to do with the retrial of the penalty 
phase of the Jodi Arias trial.

Meanwhile, over at the Maricopa County Jail, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has also chosen 
to go full stop when it comes to anything to do with the media and inmate No. 
438434. Just after the ruling on the media ban from inside the Maricopa County 
court came down, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his infinite wisdom and good timing 
chose to hand down a media blackout of his own.

In a press release released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Sept. 22, 
Sherriff Joe Arpaio called a full stop to all media inquiries for inmate Jodi 
Arias. The press release stated, "In anticipation of a likely flurry of 
requests by local and national media to interview convicted killer Jodi Arias, 
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has ordered his media relations unit to turn 
down those petitions."

And for those that are wondering whether or not Sheriff Joe is onto the notion 
that art is being smuggled out of his jail, the answer is yes. In his press 
release he made his position on that very clear. He is on it. In the press 
release Jodi Arias was accused of "self aggrandizement", and Sheriff Joe 
assured the public she is being very closely watched as a result of recent 
events.

"Arias has continued her attempts at self-aggrandizement. From her closed 
custody cell, she appears to be manipulating persons on the outside to help 
build her prestige by having them sell her artwork and personal items. Arias 
even attempted to have a documentary film team into the jail to feature her 
story."

As we previously reported on Sheriff Joe Arpaio, it was revealed that Jodi 
Arias was trying to manipulate the jail to allow in a documentary film maker 
whose past work includes work with domestic abuse survivors. We've also 
reported some peculiar events surrounding the auction of "personal items" such 
as glasses and artwork, and how "persons on the outside" may be manipulating 
those events.

To this request for the documentary film maker, Arpaio refused. Yesterday's 
press release was an official full stop to all members of the media regarding 
interviews for inmate number 438434. Sheriff Joe says, "I know there is a good 
deal of interest in this inmate. She probably has been the highest profile 
inmate ever in this jail system. But she's had her 15 minutes of fame and any 
further attempts to convey her thoughts through interviews with the media will 
not be permitted while the penalty phase is ongoing."

Who do you think Sheriff Joe Arpaio is onto when it comes to the smuggling of 
artwork? We know that mitigation specialist Maria de la Rosa has already had 
her wrists slapped for the very thing. We also have reported that multiple 
sources have connected her to the auctions of the "personal items" of Jodi 
Arias. Additionally sources have connected a man named Ben Ernst to the 
auctions and Jodi's financial empire as well.

We have confirmed that Ben Ernst has a home base in Iowa. So what would the 
chances of it being him that is doing the fair share of the smuggling?

At any rate, the media will not be allowed access to this inmate at any time 
during the retrial of the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial. In court, at 
the jail, it will all have to wait. All of those that were concerned about how 
Jodi played the media, a term that Arpaio refers to as "self-aggrandizement", 
can be alleviated. Jodi Arias will receive a fair trial, and until the verdict 
is read, she will have no media outlet to complain to otherwise.

What do you think? It's a good thing. The First Amendment might be stinging a 
little, but Judge Sherry Stephens and Sheriff Joe Arpaio presenting a united 
front on this means, justice will be served. Manipulations being planned on 
their watch will come to a full stop.

(source: The Examiner)






UTAH:

Utah Supreme Court rejects condemned killer's appeal


The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected yet another appeal from condemned 
killer Ralph Leroy Menzies, but the death row inmate could still be years from 
possible execution.

Menzies was convicted by a jury in 1988 and sentenced to die for the 1986 
kidnapping and slaying of Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old mother of 3.

Menzies, now 56, had challenged the constitutionality of Utah's appeals 
process; claimed that a previous court erred in rejecting several of his 
motions; and alleged that his former counsel provided ineffective assistance, 
including at trial, sentencing and on appeal.

"None of Mr. Menzies's claims have merit," the Utah Supreme Court wrote at the 
end of their 85-page opinion issued Monday morning.

The opinion noted that the Utah Supreme Court has previously issued 3 other 
opinions in Menzies' case during the 26 years since he was convicted.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Thomas Brunker said Menzies has 14 days to ask 
for a review of the state high court's ruling. Barring that, Utah will ask a 
federal district court to take up Menzies' appeal, which he filed several years 
ago.

After that, Menzies or the state would likely appeal any decision to the 10th 
Circuit and beyond, pushing back a possible execution date indefinitely.

Menzies, who has maintained his innocence over the years, is one of the 
remaining inmates who elected to be put to death by firing squad.

"I have, and always will maintain my innocence of the crime I'm on death row 
for," Menzies wrote in a letter in 2003. "I???ve done a lot of things in my 
life that I'm not proud of and would take back if possible, but killing someone 
is not one of them!"

In his appeal, Menzies outlined several instances in which he believes his 
former attorneys - he has been through more than a dozen over the years - 
failed him.

At trial and through sentencing, he was represented by then-defense attorney 
Brooke Wells, who is now a federal magistrate judge, and her co-counsel, 
Frances Palacios.

In his appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, Menzies accused them of failing to 
properly discredit witnesses, inadequate investigation, creating a conflict of 
interest by having him sign a liability waiver, being unprepared for the 
sentencing, not presenting mitigating evidence, hiding evidence of their 
errors, failing to object to a particular jury instruction involving the 
standard that a jury find him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" and not 
addressing Menzies's "alleged organic brain damage."

This question of brain damage, mental health and competence has come up 
numerous times over the years.

Menzies and his attorneys have argued that had he been allowed to plead guilty 
but mentally ill - or if a diminished mental capacity had been proven at the 
time of the crime - the outcome of the case would be different.

But the court ruled Tuesday that is not so.

"Pleading guilty but mentally ill would have no effect on the outcome of this 
case," the court wrote in its opinion, noting the court could have still 
imposed the death penalty if he had pleaded in such a way.

Brunker has argued that the only way Menzies could have received a reduction in 
penalty - or lesser charges - would have been if "when Menzies murdered Maurine 
... a mental illness prevented Menzies from understanding that he was killing a 
person," court documents state.

As Menzies' case begins to wind its way through the federal system, it will be 
handled by a New Mexico district court judge.

All 8 of Utah's federal judges recused themselves from the case, citing a 
conflict of interest given Wells and her prior involvement.

(source: Salt Lake Tribune)






CALIFORNIA:

Man, teen charged in Parlier man's death


A 16-year-old boy and a Parlier man were charged with murder Tuesday after 
their part in a botched marijuana robbery in Tulare County that left one of 
their accomplices dead last week, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward 
said.

Felipe Vaca, 16, will be charged as an adult and could face life in prison, 
Ward said. Jose Tienda, 34, could face the death penalty after the robbery 
attempt left his brother, Eduardo Tienda, 25, dead. Both were charged with 
murder, attempted robbery, conspiracy and gang allegations.

The suspects and the victims exchanged gunfire Thursday with several 
individuals guarding the marijuana garden near Dinuba, Tulare County sheriff's 
officials said Thursday. Vaca was shot in the leg in the exchange.

(source: Fresno Bee)






USA:

Venue change denied for marathon suspect's friend


A judge on Tuesday rejected a request to move the trial of a friend of Boston 
Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Robel Phillipos, 21, of Cambridge, is charged with lying to authorities 
investigating the bombing.

Prosecutors say he was in Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of 
Massachusetts-Dartmouth several days after the attack, when two other friends 
decided to remove Tsarnaev's backpack, laptop computer and other evidence.

Phillipos is accused of lying about being present when the items were removed.

Lawyers for Phillipos had again asked to move the trial from Boston to 
Springfield; Providence, Rhode Island; or Portland, Maine. The defense said 
Phillipos can't get a fair trial in Boston because of prejudicial pretrial 
publicity. They say he has been described in media reports as an "assumed ally" 
of Tsarnaev.

Phillipos and Tsarnaev were classmates at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School 
before becoming students at UMass-Dartmouth.

Judge Douglas Woodlock denied the change-of-venue request - the 2nd one filed 
by the defense - during a final pre-trial hearing.

"I'm satisfied that we'll be able to get a fair and impartial jury in this 
case," Woodlock said.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in U.S. District Court. Opening 
statements are scheduled for Oct. 6.

Attorney Susan Church said Phillipos has been unfairly "lumped in" with the 2 
other Tsarnaev friends who removed the backpack and other things from the dorm 
room and that the evidence will show Phillipos "knew nothing about the 
backpack." Dias Kadyrbayev pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and 
conspiracy, while Azamat Tazhayakov was convicted by a jury of identical 
charges.

Church and co-counsel Derege Demissie said in a statement after the hearing 
that Phillipos and his family have strong support from people who know him.

"Robel Phillipos was born in Boston and grew up in this area, and so he hopes 
that despite the Judge's ruling and the extensive publicity surrounding the 
case, the people of Massachusetts will give him a fair and impartial trial," 
the defense attorneys said. "Robel's friends, teachers, and priests support him 
because they know who Robel is and recognize that what happened to him in this 
case, could happen to anyone."

Twin bombs placed near the finish line of the 2013 marathon killed three people 
and injured more than 260. Tsarnaev, 21, is scheduled to go on trial in 
November and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also has asked to 
move his trial, preferably to Washington, D.C.

(source: Boston Herald)

****************************

Judge in Sampson death penalty case threatens to remove lawyer----Attorney 
accused of disobedience


Gary Lee Sampson faces second sentencing trial.

A federal judge threatened Tuesday to remove a lawyer from the high-profile 
capital case of Gary Lee Sampson and to sanction her, accusing her of ignoring 
his deadlines and violating a court order.

US Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf said he might have removed attorney 
Danalynn Recer already, if the case did not involve the complex law and high 
stakes of the death penalty. Recer was appointed specifically to Sampson's case 
because she specializes in capital punishment.

"You've injured your credibility," Wolf told Recer in one of several arguments 
during a hearing that lasted more than 4 hours. "I'm dealing with someone who 
really doesn't think she has to do what the court says."

Recer was represented by Boston attorney Max Stern in case Wolf discussed the 
possibility of handing out criminal sanctions. Stern said Recer never meant to 
be "disobedient."

Recer was appointed for the 2nd sentencing trial for Sampson, which is 
scheduled for February. The 54-year-old had pleaded guilty in 2003 to the 
carjacking murders of Philip McCloskey and Jonathan Rizzo in 2001, and he later 
admitted to killing Robert "Eli" Whitney in New Hampshire. He was sentenced to 
death in 2004.

Wolf, who handled the initial case, overturned the sentence in 2011 after 
finding that one of the jurors lied during a screening process. Prosecutors are 
again seeking the death penalty.

Since the sentence was overturned, defense lawyers and prosecutors effectively 
have been retrying the entire case, with the number of court filings rivaling 
the case of the suspected Boston Marathon bomber.

Wolf asked US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz to consider appointing additional 
prosecutors to help keep up with the workload. A prosecutor later said that 
other attorneys have already been added to the case.

Wolf scheduled Tuesday's hearing to address his concerns with the lawyers. He 
lambasted Recer for missing court deadlines and for filing what he 
characterized as overzealous motions after hours and on weekends.

But the judge was specifically angered by her communications with a federal 
Bureau of Prisons mental health examiner who was reviewing Sampson's competency 
to stand trial.

Wolf had ordered both sides to avoid contact with the examiner without the 
court's permission. But Recer later challenged the way he was conducting the 
examination, and answered questions when the examiner called her.

Stern called the incident a misunderstanding, saying Recer thought the examiner 
had permission to contact her. "There was nothing willful or knowingly 
disobedient about it," he said.

Wolf argued that "willfulness can be inferred from the reckless disregard for 
professional duty," citing the standard he can follow for removing Recer from 
the case.

He ordered Miriam Conrad, the top federal public defender in Boston, who is 
ultimately in charge of Sampson's defense, to compile a list of lawyers 
specializing in the death penalty who can replace Recer if he decides to remove 
her from the case.

(source: Boston Globe)

************************

Hard-earned wisdom found in author's stories of death


THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM DYING: A BOOK ABOUT LIFE----By David R. Dow, Published 
by Twelve Books, $25

Unlike David Dow's previous memoir, The Autobiography of an Execution, which 
focused solely upon the noted appellate attorney's death penalty work, his 
engaging new memoir, Things I've Learned from Dying, dispenses wisdom gleaned 
from observing the deaths of his father-in-law, Peter; Texas death row prisoner 
Eddie Waterman; and his dog Winona.

Dow seamlessly weaves these narratives, careful to give each figure his or her 
due. It is Peter, though, who may intrigue and challenge readers most. He 
receives a death sentence when melanoma metastasizes throughout his body.

Peter's intelligence shines through in his unfiltered, unsentimental letters to 
Dow. "There's neither dishonor nor shame," Peter writes, "in recognizing the 
jig is up so others can live out the rest of their lives in joy." He also 
believes "remaining alive is not worth every price," but his daughter Katya 
believes Peter should exhaust all options. Peter submits to another round of 
chemotherapy, "because Katya persuaded me the part of my life I own is exceeded 
by the sum of what others own."

Peter's experience informs his philosophical exchanges with Dow over the 
Waterman case. "There is something worse than dying a slow death before you are 
ready to die. It is to die with regret." Then he says, "I understand why you 
want to save this man."

Waterman was on Texas' death row for the murder of 84-year-old Lucy McClain 
during a robbery in Dallas. He shot McClain after his co-defendant, Harold 
Johnson, first shot her. The fact that Johnson's bullet killed McClain became 
critical to Dow's team at the Texas Innocence Network's appeal on Waterman's 
behalf.

The network attorneys faced a daunting challenge and incredibly long odds 
because there were five Texas Appellate Court judges, Dow writes, "who believed 
it was perfectly okay to execute someone whose trial lawyer had slept through 
the proceedings." One of these judges would hear Waterman's appeal.

Waterman's sister Hattie, in Nacogdoches, Texas, confirmed what Dow had heard 
about his client. When Waterman was 6 years old, his mother, high on PCP and 
vodka, tried to kill Waterman with a knife. It is a backstory typical of many 
on death row, and one that, Dow writes, makes him think "the world is 
completely beyond our capacity to change."

Because Waterman was only 6 when the incident occurred, Dow questions if 
Waterman actually remembered it. "Sir," Waterman says, "that's something you 
don't forget."

The way network attorneys indefatigably make every argument and interview every 
person to help Waterman will win over even cynical readers. Attorneys interview 
Sgt. Wendell Peterson with the Galveston County Sheriff's Department, one of 
Waterman's former prison guards. Peterson believes "most of them ride the 
needle" - using a metaphor for life on death row - "would kill you for your 
shoes." But in the case of Waterman, Peterson says, if he "got out, I'd hire 
him to be my hand, trust him to run the place [his ranch] without me."

Peterson's affidavit bolsters the attorneys' argument: Waterman doesn't deserve 
to die because he isn't dangerous. This and other character witnesses may 
persuade many readers that justice wasn't served in Waterman's case, but these 
testimonies carried little weight in Texas' courts.

Amid balancing the Waterman case and coping with Peter's demise, Dow 
simultaneously contends with the sudden demise of his beloved Doberman, Winona. 
Winona intuits how to keep the family out of harm's way and fiercely protects 
Dow's young son, Lincoln. Peter also develops a bond with Winona when the 
outdoorsman takes Winona on hikes. When Winona's arthritis worsens, Dow regrets 
agreeing to use Metacam to treat it. In time, the drug engendered the liver 
cancer that precipitates her decline.

Dow's rich, substantial, clear-eyed reflections about what he learns from the 
ugliness, darkness, pain and hardship of living intimately with death form the 
book's core. "What they've done is lose their own families and destroy 
another," Dow writes about the persons he defends, challenging the tendency of 
some to sentimentalize death row prisoners' hard-luck histories.

References to Cormac McCarthy and the poet A.R. Ammons, among other literary 
allusions, enhance Dow's reflections, and his terse style serves him well. He 
memorably describes Waterman's father's teeth as "the color of a root beer 
float," and a prosecuting attorney as "built like a low-slung ranch-style house 
from the 1950s."

While not disparaging the author's bond with Winona, readers who question the 
justifiability of "an abdominal ultrasound, a fecal exam, a urinalysis, and a 
complete blood test" to save a dog may not warm to Things I've Learned From 
Dying in the same way as those who share Dow's attitudes might. Nonetheless, 
this memoir will profit all who welcome the hard-earned wisdom behind this 
author's challenge and provocation.

(source: National Catholic reporter----Chris Byrd has been involved in the 
movement to abolish the death penalty for 30 years, including 4 years in Texas, 
where he helped organize the Texans Against State Killing march in 1991)

*************************

I am in the Troy Davis book club


The book I Am Troy Davis, co-authored by writer Jen Marlowe, Troy's sister 
Martina Correia and Troy himself, tells the story of an innocent man on death 
row, and how he was put to death by the state of Georgia in September 2011.

Now, readers - including death row prisoners, many of them through their 
contact with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty - are coming together for 
community book clubs to share the story of Troy and his family, and their hope 
that we will put an end to the system of state-sponsored murder. In this 
article written for YES! magazine, Christa Hillstrom talks with Marlowe about 
the dramatic response to the book-and interviews Troy's sister Kimberly Davis 
about the family's determination to carry on his legacy.

A gathering of Troy's family, author Jen Marlowe (seated at left) and others to 
discuss the book I Am Troy Davis

WHEN JEN Marlowe started working on I Am Troy Davis, she didn't think she'd be 
writing it alone.

Marlowe spent years conducting intimate interviews with the family of Troy 
Davis, an African American man from Savannah, Ga., whose controversial death 
sentence sparked a massive, 20-year, unsuccessful campaign to exonerate him.

He wasn't allowed to write a book himself, but Marlowe, through letters and 
visits, would slip him questions about his case and his childhood. In that way, 
she said, "he would write pages and pages so I could bring in his perspective."

Marlowe always imagined publishing the book together with Troy and Martina 
Davis-Correia, his sister, soul mate, and champion. But by the time she started 
writing, both of her collaborators had died -Troy, by lethal injection on 
September 21, 2011; and Martina, from cancer, just over 2 months later.

Soon after Troy's funeral, Martina had found an unopened letter from him, 
urging her to finish the book. For 2 months until her own death, she and 
Marlowe had begun cobbling the narrative together.

What you can do

Join in the Troy Davis book club, and pick up a copy of the book, at the 
Haymarket Books website.

Marlowe, a longtime human rights activist, filmmaker and author, found herself 
responsible for completing the project. She holed up for 3 months on her own, 
sifting through years of photographs and notes.

The story goes like this: In 1989, white police officer Mark MacPhail was 
fatally shot outside a convenience store in the racially charged city of 
Savannah. Troy, who had earlier left the scene, remembered hearing the shots. 
But he was shocked when he was convicted of firing them, based solely on the 
testimonies of a few witnesses (all but one of whom later recanted).

For more than 20 years, the Davis family - and their advocates around the world 
- exhausted every avenue to overturn the sentence and free their brother, son, 
uncle and friend.

Troy and Martina, who became a nationally recognized advocate for her brother, 
found themselves at the center of a movement to expose the recklessness of 
capital punishment. Their journey culminated in a worldwide outcry and 
hundreds-strong vigil outside the Georgia penitentiary where Troy was executed, 
all of them chanting, "I am Troy Davis."

On September 21, on the third anniversary of Troy's death, Marlowe, the Davis 
family and thousands of readers are launched a community book club. For the 
following three weeks, from September 21 until October 10, World Day Against 
the Death Penalty, groups around the country will gather to read I Am Troy 
Davis. The idea was developed in partnership with the NAACP, Amnesty 
International and Equal Justice USA, with the hope that diverse groups of 
readers confront difficult feelings about racism, executions, and the criminal 
justice system.

In the 3 years since Davis' death, two states have abolished capital punishment 
(Maryland and Connecticut), while two others have placed a moratorium on 
executions. Meanwhile, 8 death row prisoners have been exonerated, and botched 
executions in Oklahoma, Arizona and Ohio received extensive media coverage, 
leaving many citizens questioning the practice of killing as punishment.

Marlowe hopes that deep engagement with the Davis family's experience will 
bring the issue some much-needed empathy. "Through book discussions all over 
the country," she said, "thousands of people will be exposed to Troy and the 
Davis family's story, to their struggle, and to the human price that we all pay 
with the existence of the death penalty."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

No one understands this price better than a core group of readers currently on 
death row. Marlowe reached out to prisoners around the country to invite them 
to participate in the book club, and she hopes those on the inside and outside 
will share their hopes, grief, and insights.

Here are a few of the responses she's received so far:

Today...September 9...will make it 16 years that I've been on Death Row. The 
day I turned myself in (like Troy did) to clear my name. Reading the book 
reminds me of what I'm still going through and of how my family is still here 
for me. Like I said, Ms. Marlowe, I'm a very blessed man.

Troy was a blessed man too, but what REALLY caught my attention was that 
throughout his ordeal he was still able to have contact visits with his family. 
THAT made me both feel really good for him and jealous too.

Here in Texas, Death Row doesn't allow contacts visits. After reading your book 
and then going back to look at all the photos, I won't lie to you, I shed some 
tears because I didn't get to hug my mother before she passed. My grandparents, 
some cousins, and friends either. I just sat here thinking about hugging my 
father and shed more tears.

I just visited with my sister Delia and told her about this, and she cried! 
But, they were good tears. -- Louis C. Perez, "Big Lou," on death row in Texas

Dear Jen,

I received your letter along with a copy of the book I Am Troy Davis. Thank you 
so very much for sending me a copy...my tears are flowing just from reading the 
first several pages. I feel the words with the depth from personal experience 
of being on death row and completely innocent. Combine that with the current 
situation I'm enduring concerning my best friend's upcoming execution, well, 
let's just say I had to put the book down because the emotions are too 
overwhelming....

-- Darlie L. Routier, "innocent on Texas death row," whose best friend, Lisa 
Coleman, was executed September 17

Dear Ms. Marlowe,

Thank you very much for your letter and your invitation to participate in 
discussion about Troy. The honor would be all mine. I accept.

Without a doubt, I remember Troy's plight...I take Troy's execution personal as 
I do to all those who have been murdered by the state.

I always circulate books around me to those willing to learn. That was one 
thing that we did on death row constantly. As these newer generations come into 
play I find that more and more of these youngsters know very little about their 
history, politics, and the powers that influence their daily lives. That's very 
sad in this day of technology. Ones like myself try to pas on the torch where I 
can. I'll continue to do that.

...Thank you again for allowing me to participate, because the dream for every 
prisoner is to be a part of the conversations that matter. Sincerely, -- 
Kenneth Foster Jr., Texas inmate who was formerly on death row

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE CONVERSATIONS that matter here are big: a justice system gone egregiously 
wrong, and the deep pain of endemic racism that links Troy's story to those of 
Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and countless others.

But they are also small, and full of heart: The Davises met every weekend for 
20 years, holding hands in a prayer circle until Troy was forbidden physical 
contact in his last years; he dropped out of high school and studied for a GED 
at night so he could care for a little sister, diagnosed with multiple 
sclerosis; while in prison, he crocheted outfits for his baby nephew, De'Jaun; 
on his envelopes from death row, he wrote "Mr. Troy A. Davis" in the return 
address to remind the system of his human dignity.

Kimberly Davis, who in the start of 2011 had Troy, Martina and her mother to 
look up to, had lost them all by the end of the year. Her mother, Virginia, 
died just months before Troy's execution; Martina died 2 months after it. All 
in the space of 6 months.

In their final days, both Troy and Martina charged her with continuing the 
fight so that, as Troy said on the day he died, it will make "a difference for 
someone coming behind me." We talked to Kimberly last year about Troy's legacy 
in the Davis family today.

THIS BOOK was so gripping, so moving, for an outsider like me to read. What was 
it like for you to go back through these decades and relive them?

JUST READING the book, it's like reliving that past all over again. I had to 
catch myself several times, just crying, putting the book down, picking it back 
up. I couldn't just sit there.

The book brought back a lot of painful memories...Before [2011], everything was 
so real. Everybody was here - my mom, my brother, my sister. We were all 
looking for a happy ending to come out of this. But you know how corrupt our 
justice system is. That was so hurtful.

But my brother told us he didn't want us to cry. He wanted us to hold our heads 
up high. Because it [injustice] didn't start with him, and it wasn't going to 
end with him.

ONE OF the things I found so powerful is that it did have substantial things to 
say about the injustice of the system, but all of that is supporting the 
incredibly compelling, relatable story of a family and the community that 
wrapped around them. How was the book received in that community?

WHEN DIFFERENT people read the book, even people who never met Troy personally, 
but they were pen pals, they noticed that everyone usually portrays someone in 
prison or death row like, you think there's a monster. But here it captures 
that Troy showed so much compassion. At the funeral, his pen pals came from all 
over the world.

One woman said that Troy used to send birthday cards to her whole family. And 
when she told him her mom was sick, he sent something. It wasn't just that he 
wrote to individual people - he wrote to their entire families.

A lot of people said they were writing to Troy to uplift him. But they were 
uplifted by him.

SEEMS LIKE your whole family was that way--Martina, your mother. The book 
really dwells on the role faith plays in your family. You used to meet every 
weekend for a prayer circle, touching the glass when you weren't allowed to 
hold hands.

THE WARDEN started taking away contact visits. I remember going and my niece 
Kiersten putting her hand to the fence between us and she would stick her 
finger in just to touch him. She would try to put her lips up to the fence. She 
was only 3 years old. She couldn't understand why she was not allowed to touch 
him.

I CAN imagine that a lot of people going through what you went through in 2011, 
losing three family members, might feel faith wasn't working for them. But you 
feel the opposite.

WHEN TROY had actually first gotten his death sentence, my mom said that burden 
was too heavy for her to bear. She said she turned it over to God. When she 
turned it over to God, she said she didn't feel the heavy burden on her chest 
anymore. He told her it was going to be all right.

Troy told my mom before he got arrested that he was baptized. He got baptized 
again in jail. He said, "I've already given my life over to God, so the state 
can't take anything from me and there's nothing else they can do to me."

WITH ALL those years in prison, his faith must have matured a lot.

YES. WE used to have Bible study on Tuesday nights. Troy had it on Wednesday. 
When we finished Troy would call me and ask me for the scriptures we went over. 
At one point we taped our lessons so I was able to send them. And he used to 
send me Bible trivia questions. He would say, "When you get here, we're gonna 
discuss this." He became quite a scholar.

His favorite scripture was Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the assurance of things 
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

TROY HAD such an influence on your childhood.

OH YES. When I was 15, I was diagnosed with MS and I was totally paralyzed for 
almost a year. The doctors told my mom I would not see my 16th birthday. But 
then I did. And then they said I would never walk again.

Troy disenrolled himself school during the daytime so he could work during the 
day and help out with the bills, and then go to school at night. My mom would 
come home and he would leave his whole paycheck there for her.

After I got out of the hospital, I was not able to go back to my high school 
because it wasn't wheelchair accessible. Troy would take me to school, go to 
work, come home, take me to the hospital for two hours for physical therapy, go 
back to work, then go to school at night.

I had in my mind what the doctor told me, that I would never be able to walk 
around. One day when I was at home, I was in the wheelchair and Troy said, 
"You're going to have to get up out this wheelchair and walk." We came from 
therapy and he brought me in the yard with my wheelchair and he gave me my 
crutches. He said, "Stand up." I got out of the wheelchair.

He moved the wheelchair from behind me and I said, "What are you doing?" He 
said, "If you want your wheelchair, you're going to have to walk to it."

I said, "Troy, stop playing." He said, "You want it, you have to walk to it."

I stood there crying, calling for my mom. She came to the door and said, "Troy 
what are you doing?"

He said, "Mama, she can't continue to sit in this wheelchair feeling sorry for 
herself."

He told me, "If you want the wheelchair and if you want your crutches, you're 
gonna have to walk to it."

I took one step and then another...and from then on I was walking. By January 
of '88 I was walking more and more, with my wheelchair. Troy said, "You have to 
make a New Year's resolution" - to walk across the stage and accept my diploma 
when I graduated. Not to roll in my wheelchair.

When I walked across the stage when I graduated, at the end of the stage was 
Troy. If it wasn't for him - I had already given up on myself - I would have 
still been in that wheelchair. I always called him my hero.

AS I was reading your story, as heartbreaking as it is, I also found myself 
thinking - what a blessing, what a joy, to have that family. How do you carry 
them with you today?

MY NIECE, Kiersten, is 5 now. On all of their birthdays we go to their graves 
and we always have balloons. We make sure she has a cupcakes. The cemetery is 
close to our house and she likes to go there a lot.

Last year, she told me, "Auntie, takes me to go see Titi, Granny, and Uncle 
Troy." Kiersten had just graduated from pre-K, and De'Jaun [Troy's nephew, 
Martina's son] had just graduated high school. She said, "I want to tell Titi 
and Granny and Uncle Troy that Dede and I graduated."

So I took her to the cemetery. I got out the car, and she said, "I don't want 
you to come with me. I want to go talk to them by myself."

Their graves are in the middle of a field. She got out and ran halfway down the 
field and turned around and waved, and then she ran the other half the field 
and stopped at the headstone. She bent down - she always brushes off the 
headstone--and she'll kiss the headstone, and she always says a prayer when she 
first gets there.

When she got back, she said "Ok now you can go."

I asked, "What did you tell them?"

She said, "I told Titi and Granny and Uncle Troy that me and Dede graduated and 
were gonna have a grauation party together."

(source: Socialist Worker)