Chicagoans Plan 'Day Of Outrage' For Troy Davis (VIDEO)

UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court also turned down Davis's request for a stay of execution. Davis was executed by lethal injection Wednesday night and was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. Chicagoans angered by the Court's ruling have already responded by organizing a "Day of Outrage for Troy Davis" rally at Daley Plaza beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday.

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A coalition of organizers will gather Wednesday in downtown Chicago for a vigil of solidarity in support of Troy Davis.

The rally, principally organized by Amnesty International, will begin at 5 p.m. at Daley Plaza, at the intersection of Randolph and Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. While demonstrators waited for the event, organizers urged participants to contact the parole board, the local judge Penny Haas Freesemann and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Their goal is for Davis to be granted clemency.

A Chicago rally on Davis's behalf was previously held at Prudential Plaza, outside President Obama's 2012 re-election headquarters last Friday. At that event, according to an AFP report, some 200 people gathered. The rally was called by Amnesty International, in conjunction with the NAACP, the International Socialist Organization and other groups.

Davis's execution is currently scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday. He was convicted of murdering an off-duty Savannah, Ga. police officer, Mark MacPhail, who had come to the aid of a homeless man being assaulted in a parking lot in August 1989. No murder weapon was ever recovered and no physical evidence from the scene of the crime has linked Davis to the crime.

Since Davis's original trial in 1991, seven of nine witnesses who linked Davis to the shooting have either recanted their testimony or significantly altered the stories they told a jury.

Davis's story has attracted international attention, including support of former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI and thousands of other supporters who have rallied around him worldwide. President Obama has not publicly acknowledged the issue.

A Georgia judge late Wednesday afternoon rejected a last-minute appeal to halt Davis's pending execution.

WATCH a moment of silence dedicated to Davis from Wednesday's rally at Daley Plaza:

Hat tip to Beachwood Reporter for bringing the above video to our attention.

Comments

[yalantrt]

08:34 PM on 09/22/2011

So a black man executed in Georgia, for a crime commited in Georgia is a reason to riot, loot and behave badly? Must be a black thing.

[tbrd37]

06:45 PM on 09/22/2011

“HUFFPOST SUPER USER
happyloner­sarah
Of all the Planets, WHY was I born on this one? .481 Fans
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.17 minutes ago (12:46 PM) What is it with reporters who cut and paste, don't check the facts or are too lazy to investigat­­e claims?

Facts: The 7 witnesses who "recanted"­­, were witnesses to the first shooting NOT in the officer's shooting.

Furthermor­­e they only recanted in public. They REFUSED to recant under oath multiple times, not only in front of a Federal judge appointed by the US SC, who ordered an innocence hearing, but also in front of appeals boards. The defense REFUSED to have them questioned­­.

Two of them submitted written statements that were not notarized, and then refused to appear in front of a judge to proclaim that the statements were true.

The judge wrote a 172 page oppinion, in which he stated that without recanting under oath, the defense was putting up "smoke and mirrors".

The shooting of the Officer had 33 witnesses, including 3 Army personell. None of these witnesses recanted.

Perhaps "journalis­­ts", should actually fact check.

If somebody is against the death penalty, fine I tend to agree. But to put out misinforma­­tion either through laziness, ulterior motives or ignorance is wrong.
______________This deserves a re-post!

[blakewelding]

06:42 PM on 09/22/2011

Great time to serve warrants........i'm sure there will be plenty of ex-cons there, carrying guns.

[wm58523]

03:47 PM on 09/22/2011

1st they should clean up their city so shootings are not a noraml happening and then maybe they could understand that after 21 years it was time for society to stop paying for his upkeep and his sins of the past.
He had numerous chances to clear his name(at our expense) which he was not able to do). All of the Supreme Court agreed to this (even those on the "left" fringe) so now is the time to let the officers family get past this

[gregcurts]

09:22 AM on 09/22/2011

Would love to see some time and a story dedicated to the Officer that was slain. Would really love for all the events that took place that night to be written about.

[Heepbig Sausage]

08:21 AM on 09/22/2011

Well looks like another cop killer was justly killed. To all you deluded people claiming his innocence...if you convince yourself long enough that you didn't do something you're called a pathological liar. Davis had many years to convince himself that he was not the perpetrator. Buried so deep into his subconscious thoughts, he was able to convince himself that he really was innocent. HE WASN'T! He could have easily manipulate a lie detector test which would have proved NOTHING! So long to another criminal. Next.......

[PunisherWarJournal]

03:28 AM on 09/22/2011

Why did I read that shell casings found at the scene linked Davis to another crime, for which he was convicted, but there is no mention of that here?

[Gil1957]

02:17 AM on 09/23/2011

Ruins a good story when facts get in the way.

[icemanbill23]

11:51 PM on 09/21/2011

Does the victim get equal time?

[georgiaboy31107]

11:28 PM on 09/21/2011

RIP Troy Davis.
RIP Mark MacPhail.
Tragedy all around.
Nobody won.

[robert horwitz]

06:06 PM on 09/21/2011

Nothing like (Southern Hospitality). Welcome to Georgia.

[corwin]

06:16 PM on 09/23/2011

Robert,
He received free room and board for 22 years.DOn't you think you're being a bit ungrateful?