From l to r: Janice Ivory of Stone Mountain, Mercedes Binnis of Marietta and Britt Schults of Chicago were among those who stood vigil round-the-clock outside the Georgia Pardons & Paroles offices in Atlanta.

By Jennifer French Parker

Special to the NNPA from the CrossRoads News

 After 20 years on death row, convicted killer Troy Davis was executed at 11:08 p.m. on Sept. 21. Davis’ death by lethal injection came four hours later than his scheduled 7 p.m. execution as his lawyers and supporters made a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. It declined to stay his execution. He was 42 years old.Witnesses said he died declaring his innocence and urging supporters to continue the fight against the death penalty after his death.

Davis was convicted Sept. 3, 1991, for the 1989 death of Mark MacPhail, a white off-duty Savannah police officer, when he was 20 years old. MacPhail, 27, was working as a security guard when he intervened in a brawl in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah and was shot at point-blank range.

There was no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime, and after several witnesses recanted their testimonies, supporters say there was too much doubt to execute.

They and opponents of the death penalty called for clemency for Davis, but the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles and the state Supreme Court both upheld his sentence.

John Evans, president of the DeKalb NAACP, said the decision to execute was wrong. “When in doubt, you don’t want to kill anyone because you can’t do anything after you have done it,” he said.

Evans, who joined the vigil for clemency, said the Davis’ case highlights the need for change. “We need to take this situation and do something about the death penalty. Period,” he said.  “The disparity in sentencing between Blacks and whites is disproportional.  That’s why we can’t support the death penalty.”

AJC reporter Rhonda Cook, who was one of five reporters who witnessed the execution along with MacPhail’s son and namesake; his brother, William MacPhail; and the Davis family, told CNN Wednesday night that Davis looked at the McPhails and said he was sorry for their loss.

“I did not personally kill your son, father and brother,” Davis said. “I am innocent.” Cook said Davis asked his family and friends to continue to search for the truth. To the prison officials who would pull the switch to kill him, he said, “May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.”

She said he lowered his head and was dead within 14 minutes from a three-drug cocktail of pentobarbital, which induced coma; pancuronium bromide, which paralyzed him; and potassium chloride, which stopped his heart.

The worldwide campaign to spare Davis’ life drew high-profile support from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and 4th District U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson. Davis had escaped three previous dates with death before Wednesday.

Supporters began round-the-clock vigils last week and hundreds stood outside the Jackson state prison Wednesday praying for clemency.

In a letter written by Davis and released by Amnesty International, Davis said the struggle for justice doesn’t end with him.

By midday Thursday, the NAACP had begun organizing to work toward eliminating the death penalty. Evans said that he had received a call from NAACP state President Edward DuBose.“He said we need to get together in a few days to develop a plan of action to abolish the death penalty,” he said.

Ben Jealous, President of the NAACP, said “We must work to end the death penalty across the nation in the name and memory of Troy Davis.”