Calling for a Strike for All Execution Staff- Refuse to Kill Troy Davis!

This morning, the day before Troy Anthony Davis is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection, Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and fellow supporters gathered at the Georgia State Capitol for one last united stand to call for a halt to his execution. He is scheduled to be executed on September 23rd at 7:00pm at Georgia Diagnostics and Classifications Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

At the press conference, speakers appealed to the basic humanity of individuals who each play roles in executing Troy Davis, a possibly innocent man, from the nurses who prepare his IV injection, to the private medical company that gets paid $18,000 for each execution, to the warden of the prison that houses Georgia’s Death Row. Below are my remarks:

The execution of Troy Davis is immoral and wrong. Almost all of the witnesses against him have recanted. The courts and the parole board have failed to use their power to prevent this imminent miscarriage of justice.

However, Troy Davis' execution cannot take place unless human beings at the Georgia Diagnostic Prison make it happen. But they can refuse to kill Troy Davis!

WE CALL for a general strike or sick-out by all but a skeleton staff of the Georgia Diagnostic Prison on September 23rd. If you work on that day, you will enable the prison to carry out the execution of an innocent man. Remember your humanity!

We specifically call on Warden Hilton Hall to refuse to carry out the execution of Troy Davis, because he is innocent. Warden Hall, remember your humanity. Do not follow your orders. You have the power to stop this immoral execution. Use it!

We call on the prison nurses, who prepare the IV lines through which lethal chemicals will flow through Troy Davis' veins: Refuse to participate in the execution of Troy Davis, because he is innocent. You are human beings who have the power to stop this immoral execution. Your oath is to facilitate healing, not killing!

We call on Deputy Warden Henry Brooks to refuse to prepare the lethal injection drugs for injection into Troy Davis' veins. You have the power to disrupt this immoral execution. Remember your humanity and refuse to participate!!

We call on the prison guards who are assigned to strap Troy Davis to the lethal injection table: Refuse to carry out your tasks tomorrow! You have the power to stop this immoral execution. Call in sick!

We call on the members of the Injection Team: Strike! Do not follow your orders! Do not hit the buttons that start the flow of the lethal injection chemicals. If you refuse to participate, you make it that much harder for this immoral execution to be carried out.

We call on Dr. Carlo Musso, President of Rainbow Medical Associates, the organization contracted by the Georgia Department of Corrections to oversee executions to decline the estimated $18,000 that his firm receives per execution, and not allow ANY physician associated with his company to participate in the immoral execution of an innocent man, Troy Davis! Remember your humanity! Your oath is to facilitate healing, not killing!!

All of you are human beings with the power to refuse and resist participation in an immoral execution of an innocent man. We implore you to use this power, and use it tomorrow.

Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (GFADP), Georgia’s umbrella coalition for organizations and individuals opposed to the death penalty. GFADP members will hold vigils across the state on September 23rd in protest of the scheduled execution. For information on these vigils, visit www.gfadp.org.