Troy Davis Story: NAACP Urges Supporters to Fast, Claims Ga. Inmate Has 'Given Spirit to God'
The NAACP, integral in campaigning against Troy Davis' execution, has asked supporters to fast Wednesday evening, when the Georgia inmate is expected to die by lethal injection.
Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement on the organization's website:
Please stand with Troy and his family. Join NAACP activists around the country in an evening of solidarity, prayer and fasting on Wednesday, September 21st.
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Ask friends to meet up. Ask your family to fast Wednesday evening in solidarity with Troy's family and use the dinner hour to talk. Ask your faith community, if they already have a Wednesday night fellowship planned, to make time for conversation about Troy’s scheduled execution.
However you do it, please mark the 7 o’clock hour on that evening - the time of Troy’s scheduled execution - as a moment to reflect on Troy’s experience, to offer prayers for his family and that of Officer MacPhail, and to talk about what we can each do to ensure our nation never does this again.
In the statement, Jealous reminded supporters of Davis' resolve, noting the Georgia inmate has frequently proclaimed: "They can take my body but not my spirit, because I have given my spirit to God."
The group hopes Davis' execution will be stayed but is preparing for the worst.
"Should the execution actually occur this time, Troy's life and the fight to save it will not have been in vain - we will move forward with more allies and an even wider consensus about the urgency of our cause," Jealous said.
The NAACP has also launched a social media campaign, "I am Troy Davis," that urges supporters to post a photo of Davis on their Facebook account. The campaign allows supporters to text their signatures to a petition.
The campaign inspired musicians, producers and DJs to provide their voices in proclaiming, "I am Troy Davis."
The NAACP has said it may appeal to President Barack Obama to stop Davis' execution, which would be a last-minute attempt to keep Davis alive since the U.S. Supreme Court already rejected his appeal in March.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles ruled Sept. 20 to move forward with Davis' execution, despite a lack of physical evidence tying him to the 1989 killing of Mark Allen MacPhail, an off-duty Savannah police officer.
If executed, Davis will be the 29th inmate put to death by lethal injection and the 52nd man executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
"This is a moment to rededicate ourselves to the struggle to end the death penalty and otherwise fix our nation's broken justice system. To honor Troy's courage, and rededicate ourselves to the cause of justice in America," Jealous said.
