Indie Rock Band Joins in Fight to Save Troy Davis

Indie rock group State Radio has joined forces with Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) to produce a short, hard-hitting animated Web video about the plight of death row inmate Troy Davis. Davis has been on death row for 18 years and has received three stays of execution, twice coming within 24 hours of his death. 

The genesis of the Web video came when lead singer Chad Stokes, an Amnesty International member, wrote a song about Davis called “State of Georgia.”  The band donated the song to be used in the video. The video can be watched at www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis. 

“Troy Davis’ case is one example of a major malfunction within the justice system in this country,” said the band.  “We believe that every person deserves the right to a fair trial, and because of scenarios like this, we believe the death penalty should be abolished nationwide.”

“The band has been following the case for quite some time and even organized their own rallies while touring through Georgia, so this partnership made perfect sense,“ added Karen Scott, director of AIUSA’s Music for Human Rights program.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail.  Since the launch of its February 2007 report, Where Is the Justice for Me?, Amnesty International has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial, as well as clemency for Davis, collecting hundreds of thousands of clemency petition signatures and letters from prominent individuals around the world.  Davis’ case is now pending before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.