| In Troy's Name: A Message from Stephen Dear |
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September 30, 2011 Tomorrow I will be an honorary pallbearer at Troy Davis's funeral in Savannah, Ga. Troy empowered millions of people and that is how I will remember him. He asked everyone to pledge to work to end the death penalty and that is what I am writing to you about today. A few minutes before Troy was scheduled to be poisoned to death in Jackson, Ga. last week I made the sign of the cross, took a deep breath, and with my friend Kurt calmly crossed the street into a phalanx of heavily armed police and SWAT officers at the gates of the Georgia Diagnostic Prison. We were surrounded. "I am here to stop the execution of Troy Davis," I said. They screamed at me to leave. At that moment, with a thousand people standing behind us watching and cheering, I knew things would never be the same in our movement. There were too many new faces in the crowd. I am writing you now on Troy's behalf to ask you to pledge to take another step with me, to pray and act to expand the circle of abolitionists. Please sign People of Faith Against the Death Penalty's Pledge for Abolition.
PFADP Executive Director Stephen Dear (r) being arrested in protest of the execution of Troy Davis (Photo by Johnny Crawford, Atlanta Journal Constitution). "I am here to stop the execution of Troy Davis." They screamed at my face and grabbed me. "We are nonviolent. We are unarmed. We mean you no harm, officers." We were handcuffed tightly behind our backs, and yelled at again. (More than a week later, my wrists are still bruised, and I still cannot feel my left thumb from the heavy plastic ties left on for one hour.) We were placed in a police van with three young men, fellow nonviolent protesters. Two more new friends, a father and son from a Georgia church, would join us. We did not know Troy's fate until we were released in the morning. That same night Lawrence Brewer was executed in Texas. I was sure that the most appropriate place for me to be that night was sharing a small cell with four other men, two of us having to lie on the floor at the Butts County Jail. One of the guards taunted and insulted some of my friends as if to provoke them into an angry reaction. Charged with disorderly conduct, we go to court on November 17. I could not not take that action to stop the execution. I am asking you now to discern where you stand and what you are willing to do to help make sure executions are stopped forever in our country. I had been in Georgia the week before to deliver the letter organized by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and signed by more than 3,500 religious leaders from across the country and beyond. CNN and other media reported our finding that no such letter in modern history was thought to have as many endorsements from religious leaders. More than 1 million people signed petitions for Troy. In light of the massive mobilization that you helped bring about, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles did more than seal Troy's fate with their failure to grant clemency. They triggered a new wave of the abolition movement. They have challenged the consciences of clergy and laity to become involved in new ways. Thanks to you our movement will never be the same. Please sign PFADP's Pledge for Abolition and forward it to your family, your friends, your colleagues, your pastoral leaders, your mayor, and even your district attorney, police chief and sheriff. As Troy is soon laid to rest, let us take this sad moment and transform it from despair into hope and action. Let us pledge to rise up and unbind our souls, our country, and our world from the death penalty. Stand with me and say, "I am here to stop the execution of the next Troy Davis – and every single person living on death row." Thank you. In peace, .jpg) From Troy Davis:
"Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davises…. We need to dismantle this unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country. I can't wait to stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form." Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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