Former prisoners speak for Troy Davis

CHICAGO--A glimmer of light broke through the dark shroud that hangs over Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis at a town hall meeting here July 15, as former prisoners and activists gathered to discuss his case.

Sponsored by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Amnesty International and the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, among others, the meeting featured former death row prisoners Delbert Tibbs, Geraldine Smith, Anthony Porter, Nathson Fields, Darby Tillis and Ronnie Kitchen.

This was Kitchen's first appearance since his release barely a week before. He was finally exonerated in a case where a false confession tortured out of him by Chicago police landed him behind bars for two decades--13 of those years on death row.

Martina Correia, the sister of Troy Davis and one of his fiercest advocates, called in and spoke via speakerphone.

Troy was convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of off-duty Savannah, Ga. police officer Mark MacPhail. No physical evidence links him to the crime, and seven of the original nine witnesses who testified against him recanted their statements, saying they were coerced by police into giving false testimony.

Troy has faced three execution dates in the past two years, and is currently waiting to see if his case will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court--which announced in June that it would not make a decision on Troy's petition until the fall. In the meantime, activism like the town hall meeting will be key in keeping the pressure on.

At the meeting, each of the exonerees recounted their own emotional stories of brutality, racism--and solidarity. Delbert Tibbs said it best when he called the criminal justice system a form of "state terror."

Speakers shared their experiences of being brutalized and the poor living conditions in prison. Anthony Porter was subjected to 16 years on death row, and he recounted the rodent-infested showers and cells on death row.

Geraldine Smith, who spent more than six years on death row after a trial in which she was represented by a corrupt attorney, gave a riveting and inspiring speech, citing the corruption of the judicial system.

Such stories explain why people should join organizations such as the Campaign to End the Death Penalty or Amnesty International to better coordinate their efforts and strengthen the struggle to end the death penalty.

As Ronnie Kitchen told the crowd, "We are a fist"--and together, we can break down a corrupt and misguided criminal justice system through the abolition of the death penalty.