Savannah’s NAACP Branch Speaks Out About Troy Davis Case

The NAACP Branch in Savannah is asking the Federal Court of Appeals to order the examination of new evidence in the Troy Anthony Davis case.

Davis was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail. Davis’ execution has been delayed several times, the latest by a Federal Appeals Court.

Davis’ attorneys say this might be a first step in getting a new evidentiary hearing. They say seven of the nine key witnesses against Davis have recanted their testimony.

The President of Savannah’s NAACP branch tells NEWS 3 that’s also why he’s now speaking out.

“The branch now wants to make a statement regarding the Troy Davis case,“ read Dr. Prince Jackson, Jr. at a media conference Friday.

We’ve seen the marches, the vigils, the trips to Atlanta. And all this time, the Savannah Branch of the NAACP hasn’t officially put in its two cents. “We don’t believe at this stage of the game that the state has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Troy Anthony Davis is guilty,“ says Jackson.

Some wonder why he hadn’t spoken out before about the case: including one NAACP member. “I’ve been on the line protesting for Troy Davis. I have marched in Atlanta. I have rode the bus and why haven’t you?“ she asked.

Jackson says it all comes down to the evidence: that seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony and that so many courts keep postponing Davis’ execution. “If they couldn’t see clear the first time, it is obvious that there is something in this case that’s not right. We’re simply asking that they reexamine the evidence,“ says Jackson.

“I’m happy he came on board because he sees what we’ve been trying to tell him from the first beginning,“ says Davis’ mother, Virginia Davis.

The branch is also asking all churches to spend seven minutes this Sunday praying to help the court make the right decision.